It has not proved possible for the constant advances in our understanding of the intimate mechanisms that produce atherothrombosis to significantly reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease among the population. One objective of our department is to convert findings from investigation into atherothrombosis into significant beneficial consequences on public health. Early detection of patients at risk of severe cardiovascular events is a preferential line of research for our department.
Imaging diagnostic techniques will play an essential role in cardiovascular research as they are now highly developed. Not only do they enable numerous cardiovascular diseases to be detected but they also enable characterization of tissue and even the determination of molecular composition or the presence of specific cell groups. The CNIC will have the latest multimode cardiovascular imaging techniques, providing an exceptional opportunity to focus on preclinical and clinical research using multimode imaging.
Pioneering research: the department’s organizational structure promotes interaction between basic, preclinical and clinical research.
Currently, the department is developing several research projects using basic and advanced imaging technology. For further information, please visit advanced imaging, laboratories and ongoing clinical projects.
International training in advanced imaging: the Department has promoted the signing of an agreement with the "Mount Sinai School of Medicine" for the creation of a mixed unit for research and training into advanced imaging technology. This agreement opens the way for Spanish investigators and physicians to receive state-of-the-art training in these technologies in New York.
- Valentín Fuster Carulla
- General Director
- Ext.1001
The cardiologist Valentín Fuster currently combines roles as the General Director of the CNIC and Director of the Cardiovascular Institute at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. The innumerable positions he has held include those of President of the American Heart Association; President of the World Heart Federation; member of the Medical Institute of the US National Academies; member of the Advisory Council of the American National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; and President of the Fellowship Training Directors Program of the American College of Cardiology. After qualifying in Medicine at the University of Barcelona, Dr. Fuster continued his studies in the United States. He has been Professor in Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases at the Mayo Medical School in Minnesota and at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and from 1991 to 1994 he was Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston.
In 1994 he was appointed director of the Cardiovascular Institute and Center for Cardiovascular Health at Mount Sinai Medical Center, a post he holds today together with that of vice president of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Fuster has been awarded honorary degrees by twenty universities and has received three of the most important grant awards from the NIH. He has published over 500 scientific papers in international medical journals, and is co-author of two of the most renowned books on the subject of clinical cardiology—“The Heart” and "Atherothrombosis and Coronary Artery Disease". Dr. Fuster is also Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious journal Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine.
His work in cardiovascular medicine has made an enormous contribution to improving the treatment of patients with coronary illnesses. His research into the origin of cardiovascular accidents, which has contributed to improved prevention and treatment of heart attacks, gained him the 1996 Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research.
Dr. Fuster has been awarded a great many other prestigious awards in recognition of his work, and is the only cardiologist to have received the highest accolades of all four principal international cardiology organizations—the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, the European Society of Cardiology, and the Interamerican Society of Cardiology. These prizes include the Gold Heart, Lewis A. Conner Memorial and James B. Herrick Achievement Awards from the American Heart Association; the Distinguished Service Award of the American College of Cardiology; and the Gold Medal from the European Society of Cardiology, which he received in Vienna in September 2007. He has also recently received the Kurt Polzer prize for work in the Cardiovascular Area from the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.
© 2012 Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares