Harvard Chan Research Center on Causes and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (CAP-CVD)
Harvard Chan Center on Causes and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (CAP-CVD) studies the mechanisms impacting the etiology of cardiovascular and related metabolic diseases. We aim to facilitate collaborations between basic, clinical, and population-based scientists to uncover how metabolic risk factors, such as obesity and dyslipidemia, contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and to translate this knowledge into prevention and treatment options.
665 Huntington Ave.,
Building 2, 1st Fl
Boston, MA 02115
Activities and Awards
This page highlights the key activities and awards fostering innovation at the Center for Causes and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (CAP-CVD). Through our MetRISK CVD Awards, we support interdisciplinary teams tackling the latest cardiovascular risk factors from lifestyle changes. Current projects, spearheaded by leading researchers such as Drs. Sheng Hui, Qi Sun, and Frank Hu, utilize sophisticated lipidomics and metabolomics techniques within the Nurses’ Health Study to explore metabolic risks. Beyond research, CAP-CVD is dedicated to cultivating the next wave of cardiovascular experts by providing development support for junior faculty and recognizing excellence through the Edgar Haber Research Award, with Dr. Arpit Sharma being our most recent honoree. Explore our initiatives driving breakthroughs in cardiovascular health.
Projects
MOTIVATION FOR THE MetRISK CVD AWARDS
Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer on the globe. While some risks, such as smoking and high cholesterol, have been managed well at least in some parts of the world, new risk factors have emerged from lifestyle changes (e.g., dietary patterns) and the obesity pandemic. Understanding the causes of changed cardiovascular risks due to these changes requires an interdisciplinary approach combining population and mechanistic sciences. To advance this goal, and to strengthen the interface between the population and basic sciences, the Center for Causes and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease (CAP-CVD) solicits proposals for projects from teams including at least one member from both the Departments of Nutrition and Molecular Metabolism.
Ongoing Projects
Interdisciplinary Projects on Metabolic Risk Factors of Cardiovascular Diseases. Principle Investigators: Drs. Sheng (Tony) Hui, Qi Sun, and Frank Hu. Co-Investigators: Drs. Eric Rimm, Kyu Ha Lee, and Shilpa Bhupathiraju
The over-arching goal of the CAP-CVD project is to establish a core lab that is able to run high-throughput metabolomics and lipidomics for animal and human population studies at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The current project aims to examine lipidomics in plasma samples in relation to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS). The NHS is a prospective cohort study housed at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Harvard Medical School and consists of 112,690 registered female nurses, aged 30-55 years, enrolled in 1976. During follow-up, we have collected blood samples, repeated assessments of diet and lifestyle, and a wide array of biomedical and genetic risk factors (such as circulating fatty acids, lipoproteins, adipokines, metabolomics, and >10M genotyped or imputed SNPs) for cardiometabolic diseases. The lipidomics analysis together with these existing data will enable us to identify new disease-associated metabolites/lipid mediators.Junior Faculty Development
One of the pillars of the CAP-CVD program is to support young investigators in the field of cardiovascular research. Our goal is to provide salary and career support for one investigator per year.
2019 CAP-CVD Faculty
Tony Hui studied Physics at Hong Kong Baptist University. He then earned a PhD in Biophysics from the University of California, San Diego in 2014. After completing postdoctoral training at Princeton University, Dr. Hui joined Harvard as an assistant professor in October of 2019. The Hui lab’s overarching goal is to understand mammalian energy metabolism, which involves the constant burning of dietary carbons into CO2, in order to develop strategies for treating diseases caused by energy imbalance. Research centers on the factors that determine dietary intake and energy expenditure and how these two processes synergize to achieve energy balance in the body. The Hui lab uses tools for in vivo flux quantification of metabolic diseases like obesity and cachexia, integrating animal experiments, mass spectrometry, and quantitative modeling.
Edgar Haber Research Award
The Edgar Haber Research Award program supports researchers in their early scientific careers to enhance generating knowledge and new insights into cardiovascular health studies. The 2024 recipient of the Edgar Haber Research Award at Harvard Chan School is Arpit Sharma, PhD. Dr. Sharma is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Mair Lab in the Department of Molecular Metabolism.