Cardiovascular Disease

Despite recent advances, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the world.

abstract illustration of a heart

UVA biomedical engineers are developing the next generation of technologies to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease through multiscale computational modeling, high-throughput discovery platforms, multimodal biomedical imaging, and targeted delivery of regenerative therapeutics.

Primary Faculty in Cardiovascular Disease Application Areas

Mete Civelek, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering Resident Faculty, Center for Public Health Genomics
Mete Civelek uses big data analytics to understand the molecular pathways of disease and develops personalized medicine approaches to cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. He is an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering and a resident faculty at the Center for Public Health Genomics at the…
Google Scholar Civelek Laboratory
Email mete@virginia.edu

Frederick H. Epstein, Ph.D.

Mac Wade Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology and Medical Imaging Associate Vice President for Research, University of Virginia

Dr. Epstein is a world leader in advancing MRI myocardial strain imaging by developing and applying the cine DENSE (displacement encoding using stimulated echoes) MRI method.
Google Scholar Research Summary Biomedical Imaging at UVA BME Research Landing Page
Email fhe6b@Virginia.edu
Phone (434) 924-0270

Brent A. French, Ph.D.

Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Brent A. French combines advanced methods of targeted drug and gene delivery with biomedical imaging in vivo to explore novel targets and treatment strategies in cardiovascular disease. Research interests of the Molecular Bioengineering Lab focus on developing new, more effective strategies for treating and preventing human disease.
Email bf4g@virginia.edu

Brian P. Helmke, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Brian Helmke researches the relationship between cell mechanics and cell function using new tools in materials science and molecular biology, with a focus on cardiovascular disease. His laboratory employs a multidisciplinary biomedical engineering approach to understand the relationship between intracellular mechanics and cell function.
Email helmke@virginia.edu
Phone (434) 924-6460

Christopher B. Highley, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering

Christopher Highley develops materials and fabrication technologies to enable the design and construction of complex cellular and material systems, with the goal of addressing fundamental and translational problems in biomedicine. 
Google Scholar Highley Lab Webpage
Email highley@virginia.edu
Phone (434) 243-3045

John A. Hossack, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor, Biomedical Engineering Emeritus Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering (By Courtesy)

John A. Hossack develops ultrasound imaging approaches for cardiovascular disease, including mouse heart imaging, catheter-based imaging and drug delivery, and molecular imaging for diagnosing stroke risk. He obtained B.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Strathclyde and his postdoc at Stanford University.
Hossack Lab
Email jh7fj@virginia.edu

Craig H. Meyer, Ph.D.

Professor, Biomedical Engineering Professor, Radiology and Medical Imaging
Craig Meyer develops magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques for rapid acquisition and processing of image data in the setting of cardiovascular disease, neural diseases, and pediatrics, using tools in physics, signal processing, image reconstruction, and machine learning.
Google Scholar ResearchGate Rapid MRI Research Group
Email cmeyer@virginia.edu

Jeff Saucerman, Ph.D.

Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Jeff Saucerman, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, combines computational models and high-throughput experiments to discover molecular networks and drugs that control cardiac remodeling.
Google Scholar ResearchGate PubMed Cardiac Systems Biology Group
Email jsaucerman@virginia.edu
Phone (434) 924-5095

Eli Zunder, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Eli Zunder analyzes stem cell fate using single cell mass cytometry and high-dimensional modeling of cell lineage trajectories. He received his Ph.D. in Biophysics from UCSF in 2009.
Google Scholar Zunder Lab
Email ezunder@Virginia.edu

BME Joint Faculty in Cardiovascular Disease Applications

Brian H. Annex

Lantheus Medical Imaging Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine Chief, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine

Brian Annex, MD, is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases and interventional cardiology. Prior to his arrival at UVA in 2008, Dr. Annex served as professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine.
Annex Lab Cardiovascular Research Center
Email bha4n@virginia.edu
Phone (434) 243-1000

Bijoy Kumar Kundu

Associate Professor of Radiology and Medical Imaging Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Bijoy K. Kundu, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the tenure track in the department of Radiology and Medical Imaging at UVA. The goals of his lab are to develop and optimize quantitative cardiac PET imaging techniques to address the hypothesis of metabolic remodeling in small animal modelsof myocardial injury and type 2 diabetes. 
Google Scholar Kundu Lab
Email bkk5a@virginia.edu

Clint Miller

Assistant Professor of Public Health Sciences Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics

Clint Miller studies the genetic and environmental risk factors for coronary artery disease and other complex cardiovascular diseases using a combination of large-scale multi-omics profiling and genetic and drug perturbations. He is an Assistant Professor in Public Health Sciences and a resident member of the Center for Public Health Genomics.
Google Scholar Research Gate Miller Lab website
Email clintm@virginia.edu

Paul A. Yates

Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
Dr. Yates graduated from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in 2001. He works at the University of Virginia, specializing in ophthalmology. He speaks English and Spanish .
Eye Clinic Eye Clinic Northridge
Email pay2x@virginia.edu

More about Cardiovascular Disease Research at UVA

Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center

Supports interdisciplinary research in basic, translational and clinical cardiovascular sciences to better understand the causes of cardiovascular diseases and to pioneer development of new innovative therapies and approaches to prevent or treat them.

CVRC Website