Diseases involving the blood vessels contribute in a major way to the overall morbidity and mortality in humans. However, modern medicine lacks a formal discipline committed to vascular diseases. Tremendous strides have been made in our understanding of blood vessel biology with parallel advances in the areas of diagnosis and treatment of vascular diseases, but these advances have not been exploited optimally in terms of clinical application to the large number of patients with vascular diseases. This is related to several reasons, notably the lack of an organized concerted effort in this area in most medical institutions. The program described in this application represents a concerted multidisciplinary effort to develop at Temple University a coordinated clinical, educational and research program directed towards enhancement of clinical management of patients with vascular diseases. The institution has several strengths upon which to organize such a program including the presence of the well-recognized Thrombosis Research Center committed to basic and clinical research in the area of thrombosis and vascular diseases, and the commitment of several individuals with major interests in vascular medicine. The candidate being proposed, A. Koneti Rao, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Thrombosis Research, has extensive experience both in clinical activities and research in vascular diseases, and has major commitments to the educational programs at the Temple University School of Medicine. He has the requisite credentials to organize and coordinate a very successful program in vascular disease at the Temple University. The plan proposed in the application will develop and implement a coordinated care of patients with vascular diseases through a program that is multidisciplinary and is focussed on clinical, educational and research aspects of vascular diseases. A vascular medicine consultation service will be organized with involvement of several disciplines including Hematology, Cardiology, Vascular Surgery, Neurology and Diagnostic Imaging. In parallel with this will be a strong effort on the educational aspects of vascular diseases, at the level of medical students, residents, fellows and the faculty. Both the candidate and the institution are ideally suited for the organization of a strong program in Vascular Medicine.
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