Cardiovascular Research Institute

About CVRI

The Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) was established in 1998 when The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved changing the name from the Microcirculation Research Institute, which was established in 1981. The name change reflected the expanding scope and role of the scientists' work. The purpose of the cardiovascular science faculty is to foster communication and collaboration among faculty involved in cardiovascular research, education and training.

The major objective of this institute is to discover and disseminate new knowledge about the heart, blood vessels and lymphatics in normal and disease states.

Discovery with an emphasis on human health requires basic and clinical research, therefore our research team consists of basic scientists and physician/scientists from a wide variety of fields and disciplines. To facilitate research today and for future generations, the CVRI provides an environment for the training of undergraduates, medical students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and residents.

Dissemination of new knowledge is made possible by publication in major medical journals and in monographs and books focusing on the cardiovascular system. The contributions of our faculty to the medical literature can be found on their individual web pages.

CVRI scientists have made significant discoveries in the basic physiology of blood vessels, lymphatics and the heart. Other areas of investigation include: angiogenesis; exercise biology; heart failure; atherosclerosis; ischemic heart disease; hypertension; and diabetes. CVRI research in these areas is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the American Heart Association and other agencies.

The CVRI consists of approximately 70 faculty investigators from the Texas A&M Health Science Center and Texas A&M University.

Within the health science center, CVRI investigators are housed in the College of Medicine on the  College Station campus, College of Dentistry in Dallas, and the Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston.

Additional CVRI researchers reside in the Schools of Agriculture, Education, Engineering, Science and Veterinary Medicine on the main campus of Texas A&M in College Station.