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Canty to head UB's new cardiovascular medicine division
By LOIS BAKER
Contributing Editor
John M. Canty Jr., Albert and Elizabeth Rekate Professor of Medicine, has been named chief of the new Division of Cardiovascular Medicine in the Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
The Division of Cardiovascular Medicine replaces the former Cardiology Division to emphasize the breadth of cardiovascular disorders, as well as the rapidly emerging diagnostic, interventional and preventive approaches implemented in contemporary cardiovascular care.
Canty also will assume the position of vice chair for research for the Department of Medicine. He heads the university's Center for Research in Cardiovascular Medicine, which currently holds grants totaling more than $13 million. He also is affiliated with the Cardiovascular Disease Group at UB's New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences.
The center is conducting pioneering work on the mechanisms involved in sudden cardiac death, is developing gene-transfer and adult stem-cell therapy treatments for ischemic heart disease, and is implementing high throughput molecular approaches to identify mechanisms of acquired cardiovascular disease.
In his new capacity, Canty will oversee the teaching, research and clinical programs of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. Initial goals are to expand the faculty and to continue to build upon its recognition as a national leader in bench-to-bedside translational cardiovascular research. Plans for the longer term include developing UB into a center for cardiac molecular imaging.
Canty also will be responsible for integrating the university's cardiology sections at the VA Medical Center, Erie County Medical Center and Kaleida Health System. Plans to create a new ambulatory UB Heart and Vascular Center are under way as a part of the UBMD initiative.
Canty in 2005 received the UB medical school's Stockton Kimball Award, which honors a faculty member for academic accomplishment and worldwide recognition as an investigator and researcher. He is a member of the Association of University Cardiologists; is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the American College of Physicians; and is on the editorial board of several cardiovascular journals.
Canty has served on numerous committees for the National Institutes of Health, and currently is a member of the NIH Myocardial Ischemia and Metabolism study section.