Extending over five years, the funding will support three new research projects: one of the first clinical trials of statin medications as a potential stroke treatment; an imaging study of brain reorganization caused by stroke; and a novel stroke educational and behavior modification program.
The studies draw on the expertise of clinician-scientists at Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons and Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health. Patients from NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia will be enrolled in clinical trials focused on treating stroke in its acute phases immediately after onset.
"This grant validates the quality of our prior research and represents important opportunity for discovery of new treatment modalities for the 700,000 people in the U.S. who suffer strokes every year," says Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D., executive vice president and dean, Columbia University Medical Center.
"Translational studies, which the award supports, are critical to academic medical centers such as our own, allowing research advances in the laboratory to bear fruit at the bedside," says Herbert Pardes, M.D., president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. "Part of this translational research includes the development of protocols for stroke treatment aimed at reducing hospital stays and improving outcomes nationwide."
"Importantly, the SPOTRIAS Award will also support improved delivery of stroke care for high-risk persons in medically underserved areas, including Washington Heights and Inwood," adds Dr. Pardes.
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Contact: Elizabeth Streich
eas2125@columbia.edu
212-305-6535
Columbia University Medical Center
5-Nov-2004