Jeanne M. Nerbonne, PhD, the Alumni Endowed Professor of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology, has been named director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research.
The Center for Cardiovascular Research within the School of Medicine’s Cardiovascular Division is focused on investigating the biological processes that lead to heart and vascular disease. The center brings together researchers from diverse backgrounds, including those with expertise in cell biology, development, physiology, biophysics, biochemistry, genetics and genomics.
Nerbonne is the third director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research, which was founded in 1996 by Daniel P. Kelly, MD, former chief of the Cardiovascular Division. Her directorship begins July 1.
“Jeanne is an outstanding scientist who has made seminal contributions to the understanding of the regulation of voltage-gated potassium channels in the cardiovascular and nervous system,” said Douglas L. Mann, MD, the Tobias and Hortense Lewin Professor of Medicine and current chief of the Cardiovascular Division. “Most recently she has developed a tissue core for human heart samples, which will benefit the entire cardiovascular research community at Washington University.
“She is also a superb mentor for young scientists, which will greatly enhance the training environment in cardiovascular biology.”
Ongoing research in the Center for Cardiovascular Research is focused on heart muscle cell metabolism and physiology, the cellular and molecular basis of heart failure, the cellular and molecular responses to heart muscle injury, the development of the cardiac conduction system, the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in atherosclerosis, mechanisms of programmed cell death, and genetic predictors of complications from cardiovascular disease.
Washington University School of Medicine’s 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.