Dr. Karin Bornfeldt, professor of medicine and pathology, Deputy Director of the Diabetes Research Center, has received an Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for her R35 project “Identifying new strategies for prevention of cardiovascular complications of diabetes."
The Outstanding Investigator Award will support Bornfeldt’s NHLBI research program for seven years, with cumulative funding of more than $7.2 million over the award’s duration.
“The ability to spend 7 years of uninterrupted research on this topic will be very meaningful because we will have the freedom to pursue research directions most likely to benefit patients," said Bornfeldt.
Her career has been devoted to the discovery of mechanisms whereby diabetes increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction and stroke), with the goal of discovering new treatment and prevention strategies for the rapidly growing population of people with diabetes worldwide.
The Outstanding Investigator Awards are intended for investigators who have an outstanding record of research with contributions to NHLBI’s research objectives. Co-Investigators are Drs. Jay Heinecke, Baohai Chao, and Jenny Kanter.
“It’s a fantastic honor to receive this award from the NHLBI," said Bornfeldt. “The award will allow me and my group to dig deeper into fundamental questions about the mechanisms whereby diabetes promotes cardiovascular disease and how to prevent heart attacks and strokes in people with diabetes."