The Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) at the Department of Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital and the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University was founded in 2005 and is home to scientists, physician-scientists, and graduate and undergraduate students dedicated to basic cardiovascular research. Our mission is to unravel fundamental mechanisms of heart disease and to discover novel cardiac therapies. The research focus of CVRC investigators is on the molecular mechanisms of rhythm disorders of the heart (cardiac arrhythmias), sudden cardiac arrest, heart enlargement (hypertrophy) and heart failure.

The CVRC is located in 8,000 sq ft of newly renovated, state-of-the-art laboratory space in the "Jewelry District" of Providence, RI, a rapidly growing center for biomedical research. CVRC facilities include a sophisticated invasive animal catheterization and electrophysiology laboratory, and a brand new state-of-the-art research facility that is used for the studying of genetically modified mouse and rabbit models of cardiac diseases. These studies include cellular electrophysiology, optical mapping, single cell analyses of calcium transients and contractility, sophisticated imaging tools, as well as biochemical, molecular and cell biological experimental approaches. An important goal of the CVRC is to enhance and promote education and training in molecular cardiology and life sciences. Research is supported through grants to affiliated faculty from the NIH and AHA.