History

Cardiovascular research in the College of Medicine began in 1975 when Dr. Elvin Smith was recruited as the first head of the Department of Medical Physiology, and the decision was made to focus on the cardiovascular system. In 1982 Dr. Harris Granger was appointed head of the Department of Medical Physiology, and several new faculty members were recruited with expertise in microcirculatory physiology. To enhance the national visibility of this research group, the Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System authorized the creation of the Microcirculation Research Institute under the directorship of Dr. Granger. In the decade of the 90s, additional faculty members with training in molecular and cell biology were recruited to the Department of Medical Physiology and Microcirculation Research Institute.

In 1998 the Board of Regents authorized the renaming of the Microcirculation Research Institute as the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) to acknowledge a broader vision of basic scientists, clinician/scientists and cardiovascular practitioners working together to address fundamental and clinical problems associated with the heart and circulation. The Institute is housed in the College of Medicine and is a joint venture between the Texas A&M Health Science Center, Scott & White Clinic and the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System. Dr. Harris Granger is Director of the Institute.

The CVRI Division of Vascular Biology focuses on the molecular and cell biology of endothelium and vascular smooth muscle, vasoregulation and collateral circulation, vascular permeability, angiogenesis and the impact of diabetes, hypotension, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and ischemia on the vasculature. In 2001, Dr. Gerald Meininger was named the first Director of the CVRI Division of Vascular Biology. In September of 2006, Dr. Cynthia Meininger was named Director of the DVB.

In 1999, Dr. Kenneth Baker was recruited to fill the Mayborn Chair of Cardiovascular Research and to serve as Director of the CVRI Division of Molecular Cardiology. Today the Molecular Cardiology division focuses on fundamental signaling processes, cardiac development and growth, and molecular mechanisms of cardiac contractility, hypertrophy and heart failure.

In 2004, Dr. David Zawieja was named Director of the CVRI Division of Lymphatic Biology. The division explores the molecular and cellular basis of lymphatic contractility and lymphangiogenesis, as well as the role of the lymphatic system in prevention of edema and in basic immune functions.

The CVRI Division of Vascular Biology and the CVRI Division of Lymphatic Biology collectively occupy approximately 12,000 nsf of space in the Reynolds Medical Building on the main campus of Texas A&M University in College Station. In 2001, the CVRI Division of Vascular Biology expanded into an additional 14,000 nsf in the new Medical Research Building next to the Scott & White Hospital on the Temple campus. In 2003, the CVRI Division of Molecular Cardiology moved into 16,000 nsf of space in the new VA Research Building on the Temple campus.

The Cardiovascular Research Institute has many members who hold primary faculty appointments outside the College of Medicine. Within the Health Science Center, CVRI investigators are housed in the Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, the Irma Rangel College of Pharmacy in Kingsville and the Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston. Additional CVRI researchers reside in the Colleges of Agriculture, Education, Engineering, Science and Veterinary Medicine on the main campus of Texas A&M University in College Station.