Vascular Medicine Research
Investigating All Aspects of Peripheral Vascular Disorders
The Vascular Medicine Research Program at BIDMC spans all areas of investigation involving peripheral vascular disorders, with disciplines ranging from basic/translational research through clinical health services and outcomes research. Consisting of a diverse group of investigators, the program receives funding from non-profit foundations, the National Institutes of Health, industry partnerships and philanthropy. The program has a particular interest in training new investigators, and members of the program include medical students, residents/fellows and junior faculty. The group collaborates closely with multiple biostatisticians, and the clinical research program arm operates as part of the Smith Center for Outcomes Research in Cardiology. Since its inception, the program has been prolific, including publishing more than 25 manuscripts annually, presenting original science at national and international meetings, involvement in national societies, and participation in updating society guideline recommendations.
Key areas of interest include:
- Comparative Safety and Effectiveness Research: The core investigators have deep knowledge in using novel statistical methods to perform comparative analyses of safety and effectiveness of peripheral devices in observational data. For instance, the program has been extensively involved in using insurance claims data to evaluate the long-term safety of paclitaxel-coated peripheral devices, which has been used to inform US regulatory officials.
- Health Services Research: A major focus of the program is to establish real-world evidence of the epidemiology of vascular disorders and the interplay with the healthcare system. For example, recent investigations have focused on the burden of hospital readmissions among patients with aortopathies, visceral artery dissections, pulmonary embolism and vascular procedures.
- Patient-Oriented Outcomes and Personalized Medicine: Recent investigation has focused on the implementation of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMS) to guide treatment decisions and evaluate response to therapy. For instance, the program has successfully tracked PROMS of patients with peripheral artery disease referred for supervised exercise therapy or peripheral endovascular intervention to examine treatment responses to these interventions. This is similarly being performed among patients discharged after acute pulmonary embolism.
- Thrombosis and Coagulation: The basic/translational research program focuses on endothelial dysfunction that predisposes to thrombosis. In collaboration with the Division of Hemostasis and Thrombosis, investigators are using cellular and animal models and state-of-the-art intravital microscopy to understand novel mechanisms of thrombotic disease and investigate therapeutic interventions.
Brett Carroll, MD, is the Director of the Section of Vascular Medicine and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He directs the BIDMC pulmonary embolism response team, is the medical director of the BIDMC Aortic Center, and director of lymphatic medicine. His research interests include venous thromboembolism, aortic disease, and lymphedema. He utilizes large administrative datasets to evaluate vascular diseases.
Eric A. Secemsky, MD, MSc, is the Director of Vascular Intervention in the CardioVascular Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Director of Vascular Research at the Smith Center for Outcomes Research in Cardiology. He is also an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Secemsky's research focuses on the comparative effectiveness of coronary and vascular therapies, with an emphasis on the use of novel statistical methods. He also examines outcomes related to cardiovascular disorders and the use of risk prediction models to individualize treatment strategies. Dr. Secemsky's clinical expertise is in vascular medicine, vascular intervention, and interventional cardiology.
Alec Schmaier MD, PhD, is a member of the Section of Vascular Medicine and Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Schmaier’s research focuses on the interplay of endothelial cell biology and thrombosis and how they predispose to cardiovascular disease. Specific projects include endothelial membrane alterations that promote coagulation on the vessel wall, regulation of the Tie2-angiopoietin pathway for therapeutic intervention in vascular disease, platelet-derived vascular mediators, and mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction and thrombosis in COVID-19.