"We Care for the Heart in Science"

Mission

Diseases of the heart and blood vessels are the most common causes for hospitalisation and death in industrialised countries. Future progress in cardiovascular medicine should be stimulated by combining the forces of molecular basic science and applied clinical research. At the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, the UGCVR has been established as a translational research framework devoted to the delivery of new strategies for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

People

The basis of the UGCVR are its people – basic scientists and clinician scientists with a “hearty” commitment for cardiovascular research and medicine, dedicated technicians and study nurses supporting its demanding projects, and students enrolled in its graduate programmes.

Research

The common goal of the 12 internationally known research groups collaborating under the roof of the UGCVR is to unravel the molecular and cellular causes of the main cardiovascular diseases – myocardial infarction, heart failure, and atherosclerosis. Research is carried out in experimental laboratories and clinical research facilities equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

Education

The researchers of the UGCVR are devoted teachers in their specific fields of expertise. UGCVR has its own graduate school programme focusing on the “Biological Basis of Vascular Medicine” for doctoral studies. The programme is embedded in the university’s Graduate School for the Life Sciences and a PhD – MD/PhD programme of the medical faculties. Admission is international, and teaching is carried out in the English language.