Richard J. Powell, MD, the 1999 Wylie Scholar, is currently Associate Professor of Vascular Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, New Hampshire.
What was your FAVR funded research?
FAVR funded research provided the initial financial support to conduct studies defining the mechanisms by which endothelial cells regulate smooth muscle cell pheonotype. This process is critical in restenosis, atherosclerosis and angiogenesis. These basic investigations will have far reaching effects. Failure of bypass grafts and stents due to restenosis is an all too frequent occurrence. Atherosclerosis leads to more death, stroke, heart attack, and limb loss than cancer. Understanding how smooth muscle cells contribute to these processes is fundamental to their prevention. Lastly cutting edge therapies such as therapeutic angiogenesis which may be used to treat ischemic heart disease and critical limb ischemia will require a more thorough understanding of this process before this mode of therapy can be successfully implemented.
What impact did the Wylie Scholar Award have on your ability to continue research?
Funding from FAVR laid the foundation for us to obtain three NIH sponsored RO1 grants with laboratory personnel of over 15 individuals including MDs, PhDs and graduate students. We have also received two KO8 grants and a grant from the American Heart Association.
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