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ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The IRM Program in Regenerative Cardiovascular Biology is discovering ways to harness the power of stem cell and regenerative medicine for the treatment of heart failure and other cardiovascular disorders.

The Penn IRM has partnered with the Penn Cardiovascular Institute to facilitate basic and translational programs for rebuilding damaged heart tissue. 

Because cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, the need for research and development for therapies and treatments is crucial.

INNOVATIVE RESEARCH

Penn Medicine’s program is one of the strongest clinical programs for cardiovascular disease in the country, and the expertise these institutes are bringing together makes this program one of the best in the country.

Areas of research within the program include:

  ♦ Cardiac cell regeneration
  ♦ Adult cardiac stem cell biology
  ♦ Approaches to enhance the heart’s natural ability to repair itself
  ♦ Tissue engineering

ADVANCEMENTS IN MEDICINE

The program in regenerative cardiovascular biology is only one of three research centers awarded a prestigious grant by the American Heart Association to study the development and mechanisms of generating new cardiac muscle cells. This achievement has allowed researchers and clinicians to discover ways to regenerate cardiac tissue.

"At Penn, we're discovering real possibilities of future treatments for cardiac disease because we have the research and clinical expertise to make it happen."

Jonathan A. Epstein, M.D., is Director of the IRM Program in Regenerative Cardiovascular Biology and William Wikoff Smith Professor of Cardiovascular Research.  Dr. Epstein was a founding Co-Director of the IRM. His research has elucidated a genetic program for the formation of the heart and its vessels from different types of early embryonic cells. His work helps understand the basis of congenital heart disease.