Vasan Ramachandran, MD, FACC

Vasan Ramachandran, MD, FACC

Chief, Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, Dept. of Medicine

Professor of Medicine & Epidemiology

I am a cardiologist with subspecialty training in echocardiography and cardiovascular epidemiology, and have a long-standing commitment to clinical epidemiological research. Presently, I am Editor of Circulation Cardiovascular Genetics and Associate Editor of Circulation.  I am Chief, in the Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology in the Department of Medicine and Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health.  At the Framingham Heart Study, I am the Principal investigator and serve as the Director of the Echocardiography Laboratory and Director of the fellowship program in Cardiovascular Epidemiology. For the last 20 years, I have focused my research on A) the genetic and non-genetic epidemiology of congestive heart failure, including identifying risk factors for the disease, characterizing the subgroups with diastolic heart failure, asymptomatic LV systolic and diastolic dysfunction, and evaluating the role of LV remodeling; B) population-based vascular testing and echocardiography, including identifying biological, environmental, and genetic determinants (correlates) of cardiac structure and function; normative standards; detailed assessment of biomarkers of the process of LV remodeling, including but not limited to role of natriuretic peptides, insulin resistance, cardiac extracellular matrix markers, oxidative stress, inflammation, growth factors; genetics of LV remodeling, LA and aortic structure and gene-environment interactions; brachial artery endothelial function, its correlates and tonometric assessment of large artery function; C) genetic and non-genetic epidemiology of high blood pressure, including characterizing the lifetime risk, rates of progression and risks associated with various degrees of elevation; large artery stiffness and function and role in systolic hypertension in the elderly; genetics of high blood pressure and large artery function; and D) CVD risk estimation in the short, medium- and long-term, with novel biomarkers including genomic biomarkers. My long-term interest in the epidemiology of cardiovascular risk factors, subclinical atherosclerosis, overt CVD and CVD risk prediction render me suitable to be the PI on this contract.