Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in Scotland. It includes all the diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease includes coronary artery diseases such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack), stroke, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, endocarditis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral artery disease and venous thrombosis. Work at CRM At CRM Dr Mihaela Crisan studies Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) which generate all blood cells throughout the entire lifespan. HSC transplantation can cure many children and adults affected by leukaemia. Donors are limited and thus there is a requirement for a new alternative source of hematopoietic stem cells. We are interested to learn how HSCs are naturally born during development. To do this, we study the surrounding vascular microenvironment in which the first adult-type hematopoietic stem cells appear (dorsal aorta) and expand (foetal liver). In parallel, we want to understand whether pericytes (cells which are found in the walls of the body's smallest blood vessels) support heart development and participate to repair process and regeneration upon injury. Mihaela Crisan Research Group Support our research If you would like to keep up to date with the progress of our research or support our research by making a donation, please follow the links below. Sign up for e-newsletters Donate This article was published on 2024-02-26
