Six-institution grant awarded; UF looks to use award for heart disease research

The University of Florida and six other institutions have received a seven-year grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung and blood Institute to develop heart disease therapies that use a patient's own bone marrow and heart cells to generate new healthy heart cells and restore function. UF's portion of the award totals more than 5 million, which will allow researchers to build on findings from earlier randomized clinical trials funded by a previous five-year grant. Dr. Carl J. Pepine says the grant will allow the university to move treatment of heart disease from prevention to regeneration.