How does insufficient sleep duration, irregular timed sleep schedules, and poor sleep quality contribute to the pathophysiology of lung, heart and blood diseases?

There is a need to improve accessibility of Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation (BMSCT) for Sickle Cell Disease patients who are most likely to benefit from this treatment option.

1. Building a culture of trust between and among primary care providers, specialists, patients/families, and other stakeholders

2. Consensus building around BMSCT as an acceptable treatment alternative (as opposed to another research endeavor)... more »

Will sensitivity to the psychological aspects of obesity, including lifestyle priorities and motivations, improve the efficacy of long-term effectiveness of weight loss and obesity prevention interventions?

The continued development of new technologies requires cardiothoracic surgeons to maintain a strong level of research to ensure the highest quality of patient care and surgical outcomes are received across the world. The level of support for CT surgery within the NIH has continued to drop over the last decade. This is a substantial problem for the specialty as the limited funding available creates difficulty in the continued... more »

Can better predictors of disease severity such as specific biomarkers and/or genetic polymorphisms be identified so as to help understand the course and progression of sickle cell disease in various patients?

How can the safety, dosing and benefits of existing therapies for sickle cell disease such as hydroxyurea, be optimized in order to increase its efficacy and improve patient adherence?

The proteomics field has dramatically progressed over the past 20 years, with advancements and improvements in experimental designs and sample preparation protocols, as well as mass spectrometry equipment, approaches, and analysis. This has resulted in substantial forward progress towards a proteomic pipeline to establish cause and effect mechanisms of cardiovascular disease. There is a need for CV proteomics that resolve... more »

A comprehensive research strategy and plan is needed to determine the most efficient, safe, cost-effective and widely applicable strategy to decrease circulating levels of lipoprotein(a) and to determine whether lowering circulating lipoprotein(a) levels will reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease such as a heart attack or a stroke as well as the progression of atherosclerosis or aortic stenosis.

Despite advances in care, patients with sickle cell disease have significant morbidity and mortality. One challenge is the optimal use of simple vs exchange transfusion vs no transfusion when managing these patients. Simple transfusions lead to iron overload while exchange transfusions may expose patients to increase numbers of red blood cell units. The mechanism of benefit from transfusion (oxygen delivery vs marrow... more »

What is the roll of inflammation and how does lipid apheresis alter inflammation in peripheral vascular disease when added to standard therapy and/or when used alone? Does lipid apheresis result in long-term improvement with reduced morbidity, mortality, and expense compared to standard therapy?

There is developing evidence that sleep disorders, in particular obstructive sleep apnea and inadequate sleep, can influence the course of other chronic diseases. Observational studies show that CPAP treatment of patients with pre-diabetes who have OSA reduces the incidence of future diabetes. Moreover, animal and human data indicate that insufficient sleep and sleep apnea can affect the rate of progression of neurodegenerative... more »

There is growing evidence that sleep durations are progressively declining in the United States. Moreover, sleep durations are different at different ages and in different ethnic groups. Currently definitions of normal are based on consensus since there is a lack of key data. Defining normal as with FEV1 is a critical step.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a complex, progressive condition characterized by high blood pressure in the lungs and restriction of flow through the pulmonary arterial system. Current PAH therapies mainly act of the vasoconstrictive component of the disease; however there is a widely accepted view that another contributor to the disease is an abnormal overgrowth of cells that line the pulmonary arteries, which... more »

Over the last thirty years, our fundamental understanding of the genetics and pathogenesis of congenital heart disease has lagged the tremendous advances in the surgical and clinical care of infants with this group of disorders. We need to close this gap with investigation into the genetic basis of congenital heart malformations to develop new models of disease. The goall is translate an improved molecular genetic and... more »

There is a need to investigate hemoglobin biosynthesis in order to develop novel approaches to treat sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and other anemias.