Vijaya Kolachalama Receives AHA Grant to Improve Cardiovascular Treatments
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Source: BUResearch
Vijaya B. Kolachalama, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at BUSM, has received a Scientist Development grant from the American Heart Association (AHA).
The $231,000 award will fund his three-year study, “Mechanisms of drug-coated balloon therapy.” This project will focus on developing models for smarter artery care including improving drug coated angioplasty balloons that could benefit patients with clogged arteries. Devices such as stents and balloon catheters are used millions of times each year to help manage coronary heart disease, the leading cause of global mortality.
Kolachalama’s research involves machine learning which is a type of artificial intelligence that provides computers with the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed. His laboratory is focused on three areas: machine learning and image processing for precision medicine, machine learning and cardiovascular simulation and mechanisms of endovascular therapies. For more than a decade, his research has been within the cardiovascular domain, specifically on endovascular device-based therapies.
The goal of the Scientist Development grant is to support promising young scientists in cardiovascular and stroke research in the gap between completion of their research training and readiness as an independent investigator.