The first Society for Vascular Surgery® (SVS) Foundation Multicenter Clinical Studies Planning Grant was presented to Thomas S. Hatsukami, MD, of the University of Washington, Seattle, during the Vascular Annual Meeting held June 6-8, 2012 in National Harbor, Maryland.
Approved in 2011, the new one-year, $100,000 SVS Foundation grant is directed to SVS members to fund high-impact multicenter clinical studies in the treatment and/or prevention of vascular diseases. The Planning Grant specifically targets SVS member investigators who have a track-record of productive clinical research.
Dr. Hatsukami is a Professor of Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is also the co-director of the Vascular Imaging Laboratory. The title of his project is: MRI of High-Risk Carotid Plaque.
“The management of carotid atherosclerosis is currently guided by severity of stenosis but there is increasing evidence that better selection criteria for carotid intervention are needed,” said Dr. Hatsukami. “Novel techniques using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been developed that permit rapid assessment of carotid atherosclerosis – techniques that shift the focus from the flow channel to the diseased arterial wall itself.
“We are grateful for the support from the SVS Foundation which will enable the establishment of a network of imaging centers in preparation for a large, multicenter study to determine whether carotid plaque MRI improves risk stratification.”
Additional information about the new Multicenter Clinical Studies Planning Grant is available at: www.vascularweb.org/about/SVSFoundation/Pages/Multicenter-Clinical-Studies-Planning-Grant.aspx
