# Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network Linked Clinical Research Centers for Virginia and West Virginia

> **NIH NIH UM1** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2020 · $591,162

## Abstract

Project Summary
This proposal documents the significant contributions that the University of Virginia (UVA) has made to the
NIHLBI/ NINDS sponsored Network for Cardiothoracic Surgical Investigations in Cardiovascular Medicine as
one of eight core sites. These important contributions have spanned from leading and participating in
numerous protocol development committees, consistently being one of the top enrollers in CTSN trials, and
successfully functioning as one of 3 Skills Development Programs in the network. UVA performs 1100-1200
adult cardiac procedures annually which are available for recruitment in clinical research as the highest
institutional priority. The UVA investigative group is led by Dr. Gorav Ailawadi, the Chief of Cardiac Surgery
and an active cardiac surgeon, who has been active in the Network for 10 years with a number of committee
and leadership roles. Dr. Ailawadi also has leadership roles in the Virginia Cardiac Services Quality Initiative
designed to improve cardiac care in Virginia, a successful model for implementation science. The UVA team
has been highly committed with strong collaboration among surgeons, cardiologists, and neurologists evidence
by consistent top enrollment in nearly every CTSN trial. UVA will function as the experienced network site in
this proposal and will partner with less experienced site in West Virginia University (WVU) who proudly cared
for a large underserved population with a reputation for high quality clinical care. Recently, great investments
have been made to develop the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, led by Dr. Vinay Badhwar, as an integrated
service line model combining cardiac surgery and cardiology under a single leader. Dr. Badhwar is a renowned
cardiac surgeon with national leadership roles in our major societies as well as strong relationships with
industry. He has recruited several top notch surgeons, cardiologists, and imagers with excellent track records
in clinical trials and high quality care. Moreover, the recent reorganization at WVU has resulted in a significant
investment in research funds and infrastructure. Collectively, these investments make WVU an ideal site to join
the Network, with ability and capacity to contribute highly to patient enrollment and trial designs. Further, our
sites serve unique underserved patients with high cardiovascular disease burden, who travel from great
distances to receive their care. Our specific aims focus on three areas: 1) To optimize participation and utilize
novel and innovative approaches for the recruitment and retention of patients in CTSN trials among our two
institutions. 2) To mentor and build capacity for WVU as a new affiliate site in a rapid fashion allowing
immediate contributions to the Network. 3) To support the development of clinical and implementation skills
broadly across trainees and mentees across our institutions to develop future leaders in clinical research in
cardiac care.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9899287
- **Project number:** 5UM1HL088925-13
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Vinay Badhwar
- **Activity code:** UM1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $591,162
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2007-07-01 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9899287

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9899287, Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network Linked Clinical Research Centers for Virginia and West Virginia (5UM1HL088925-13). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9899287. Licensed CC0.

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