Scientific Report 2008

Abstract

With the publication of this CNIC Scientific Report for 2008, it seems appropriate first to reflect on the progress made at the Centre in the three years of my association with it. The CNIC was created to be the nexus of an expanded Spanish contribution to cardiovascular research and to play a leading role in the application of research results in clinical practice, both nationally and internationally. This prioritization of translational research is reflected in the Centre’s organization, defined in 2006, in which three basic research departments—Vascular Biology and Inflammation, Cardiovascular Developmental Biology and Regenerative Cardiology—are complemented by three with a more directly clinical orientation—Atherothrombosis and Imaging, Epidemiology and Translational Research. The creation of these departments saw the recruitment of new staff, including at the most senior level, doubling the number of researchers and laying the foundation for the future growth of the Centre [...]