MCRI Multidisciplinary Research Groups

With the explosion in novel cancer therapies, cancer outcomes have improved dramatically resulting in a growing population of cancer survivors. Simultaneously, there has been a rise in cardiovascular side effects of these cancer therapies that are limiting the quality of life and life expectancy of cancer survivors. The Tufts Cardio-Oncology Research Group is hosted by the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (MCRI). Since 2017, the Cardio-Oncology Research Group has been bringing together basic scientists from the MCRI with clinician-investigators from the Cardiology and Oncology Divisions at Tufts Medical Center and at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University along with scientists at Tufts University Schools of Medicine and Engineering and statisticians and population researchers in the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS) and the Tufts Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI). Together, the goal of the Cardio-oncology Research Group is to advance our understanding of genetic, biological, and clinical factors that contribute to the cardiovascular side effects of cancer therapies, to identify biomarkers of toxicity that can be employed to improve clinical care and to determine therapies to mitigate the side effects of cancer treatment.  The group is using a one-health approach to develop a cross-species platform that includes cellular and model organisms, canine cancer patients, and human cancer patients to investigate novel mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapies to improve cardiovascular outcomes in cancer patients.

Faculty sponsor: Iris Jaffe, MD, PhD
Email: Iris.Jaffe@tuftsmedicine.org

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Heart and kidney disease often manifest together in the same patients and therapies that impact the heart can affect the kidney and vice versa. Tufts Medical Center has researchers working at the cutting edge of science and innovation in both cardiovascular and renal disease. Thus, the Tufts Cardiorenal Research Group is hosted by the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (MCRI) to bring together basic scientists from the MCRI with clinical scientists and clinician investigators from diverse departments at Tufts MC including the Divisions of Cardiology and Nephrology, statisticians and epidemiologists in the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS) and the Tufts CTSI, all with common interests in the intersection of the study of kidney disease in heart disease.

Faculty sponsor: Navin Kapur, MD
Email: Navin.K.Kapur@tuftsmedicine.org

With the aging of the population, the prevalence of neurologic diseases, including stroke and dementia is rising. Aging is also associated with a greater prevalence of risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes and alters the function of the blood vessels to the brain which contributes to the development and progression of these neurologic disorders. The Tufts Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (MCRI) includes experts in the study of blood vessel aging and cerebrovascular function. Tufts University School of Medicine Department of Neuroscience includes multiple world experts in the study of mechanisms of neurologic disease, particularly Alzheimer’s dementia.  The Vasculo-Neuro Research group was launched in 2021, bringing MCRI investigators studying the impact of aging, high blood pressure, and diabetes on blood vessel function and disease, to expand their scope to focus on how these cardiovascular mechanisms contribute to Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The Vasculo-Neuro MRG integrates these MCRI investigators with multiple faculty in the neuroscience program at Tufts Medical School as well as clinical researchers in the Neurology Department at Tufts MC. On October 14, 2021, the NIH announced a notice of special interest (NOT-HL-23-002) with a call for applications with “multidisciplinary research” “promoting research to understand vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia”. This is the exact focus of the Vasculo-Neuro MRG and hence the group is poised to submit proposals in response to the RFA.

Faculty sponsor: Miranda Good, PhD 
Email: Miranda.Good@tuftsmedicine.org

There are well-known sex and gender differences in risk and outcomes of heart disease in women that are caused by differences in biology, treatment, and social determinants of health. The Women’s Cardiovascular Health Research Group was launched in 2018 to bring together basic scientists from the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (MCRI) with scientists, clinician investigators and population researchers from diverse Departments at Tufts Medical Center including Internal Medicine, the Mother Infant Research Institute (MIRI), Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Pediatrics with investigators from the Tufts Freidman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University School of Medicine and School of Public Health, and the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) with common interests in studying the unique aspects of Women’s Cardiovascular Health. The goal is to advance our global understanding of genetic, biological, lifestyle, and psychosocial factors that contribute to heart and blood vessel health in women, and to determine how these mechanisms differ from men and change when women develop cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in women. The group is focused on understanding how women’s cardiovascular health changes over the lifespan and the disproportionate impact of risk factors (ie obesity, preeclampsia, diabetes) on women’s health.

Faculty sponsor: Iris Jaffe, MD, PhD
Email: Iris.Jaffe@tuftsmedicine.org

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Non-healing ulcers and wounds are a major cause of limb amputations. These are exacerbated by wound infections with multidrug-resistant bacteria, underlying vascular disease, immune disorders and metabolic dysfunction. Thus, a comprehensive research approach that investigates all these interacting issues is needed for effective wound treatment. The Wound Healing Research Group was launched in 2023 as a coalition of basic science researchers, vascular surgeons, infectious diseases specialists, nurses, and veterinarians who are all focused on developing innovative therapies to prevent and to expedite the healing of debilitating chronic wounds. Members of this group come from the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute, Vascular Surgery and Infectious Diseases departments of Tufts Medicine, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. The Wound Healing Research Group aims to develop a precision medicine approach to treat different types of chronic ulcers to prevent amputations and improve patient outcomes using a Bedside-to-Bench-to-Bedside strategy. Our studies are focused on uncovering new biomarkers to evaluate wound pathology and healing, developing high throughput testing of new drugs and treatments to expedite wound healing, and testing the safety and efficacy of new localized needle-free transdermal delivery systems to deliver high molecular weight antibiotics and gene and protein therapies to treat chronic ulcers. The group is already well supported by funding from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.

Faculty sponsor: Lakshmi Pulakat, PhD
Email: Lakshmi.Pulakat@tuftsmedicine.org