Dr. Seungchan Kim and the CCSB team at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) are collaborating with Center Director Stephen Y. Chan, M.D., Ph.D. (Director of the Vascular Medicine Institute at the University of Pittsburgh) and researchers across the University of Pittsburgh on a major research initiative supported by the American Heart Association (AHA). The collaborative center is established as part of a $15 million nationwide award under the AHA’s Strategically Focused Research Network (SFRN) on Inflammation in Cardiac and Neurovascular Disease, with additional foundational investment support from the WoodNext Foundation.
The University of Pittsburgh and Prairie View A&M University team joins research teams from Northwestern University (Chicago Campus) and the University of Michigan in this four-year national network. Together, the network aims to better understand the body’s response to inflammation and elucidate the critical “crosstalk” between the heart and brain, addressing key knowledge gaps in how inflammatory dysregulation fuels cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases.
As part of the AHA’s institutional commitment to expanding diversity in clinical and scientific research, the University of Pittsburgh has partnered with Prairie View A&M University to establish the Center for Cardiopulmonary Vascular-Brain Research (CCVBR). Directed by Dr. Stephen Chan, the CCVBR research teams will conduct three complementary projects—led by Drs. Partha Dutta, Anne Newman, and Toren Finkel—focused on identifying, preventing, and treating interrelated conditions of brain and vascular pathology.
The PVAMU team, led by Dr. Seungchan Kim, will direct the computational modeling and analysis for the project. Leveraging advanced systems biology frameworks, machine learning, and multi-omics data integration pipelines, the PVAMU team will model complex regulatory networks and analyze genomic, transcriptomic, and clinical datasets to discover predictive biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
The center’s core research thrusts include:
- Lysosomal Regulation of Inflammation: Investigating how lysosomes—cellular organelles containing digestive enzymes that clear worn-out cellular components—control inflammation across blood vessel diseases (such as heart attacks, heart failure, and pulmonary vascular disease) and brain diseases (such as Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias).
- Computational Modeling & Precision Biomarkers: Developing multi-omic network models to determine whether DNA and blood variations related to lysosomal function can predict disease onset, progression, and patient response to targeted anti-inflammatory therapies.
- Heart-Brain Neurocognitive Protection: Examining cellular mechanisms that influence memory and cognitive preservation, with the goal of identifying new therapies that protect and boost brain function for individuals who have experienced a heart attack.
Project Title: Center for Cardiopulmonary Vascular-Brain Research (CCVBR) — AHA Strategically Focused Research Network on Inflammation in Cardiac and Neurovascular Disease
Center Leadership & Key Investigators:
- Stephen Y. Chan, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA (Center Director, University of Pittsburgh)
- Seungchan Kim, Ph.D. (Computational Modeling & Analysis Lead, Prairie View A&M University)
- Pitt Project Leaders: Partha Dutta, Ph.D., Anne Newman, M.D., M.P.H., and Toren Finkel, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh)
Award Duration: 04/01/2024 – 03/31/2028 (4 years)
Funding Agency: American Heart Association (AHA) via University of Pittsburgh
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