Director, Emory Program in Cardiovascular Outcomes Research and Epidemiology (EPICORE)
Bio
Dr. Vaccarino is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology, at the Emory University School of Medicine, with a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology, in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory. She is also director of the Emory Program in Cardiovascular Outcomes Research and Epidemiology, and medical director of the Heart Center Information Services. She received her MD degree from the University of Milan, Italy in 1984 and her PhD degree in epidemiology from Yale University in 1994. In 1995 she was appointed assistant professor at the Yale University School of Medicine. In 2000 she left Yale to join the faculty of the Emory University School of Medicine where she has reached the rank of Professor of Medicine.
Research
Dr. Vaccarino’s research is in the area of cardiovascular epidemiology and prevention. Her main research interests involve the study of social, behavioral, and emotional determinants of cardiovascular risk, and the underlying mechanisms linking these factors to cardiovascular disease. A major goal is uncovering the biological pathways linking emotional stress and depression to cardiovascular disease. We are particularly interested in the complex interplay between emotional factors, the autonomic system, and genetic predisposition in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease in human populations. Another area of long-standing interest is the study of sex and race disparities in cardiovascular risk and possible determinants of such differences.
Dr. Vaccarino is also the Director of The Emory Program in Cardiovascular Outcomes Research and Epidemiology ("EPICORE"), a multidisciplinary research group concentrating on clinical and population epidemiology, outcomes research, clinical trials and translational research in cardiovascular diseases and related disciplines. She is also the medical director of the Emory Heart Center Information Services (HCIS), which supports as an investigative resource the Emory Cardiac Database, one of the nation’s original and largest computerized cardiovascular databases.
Teaching
Dr. Vaccarino is an active member of several teaching and mentoring programs at Emory. These include the Graduate Program of the Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences in the School of Medicine, the Graduate Program in Epidemiology in the Rollins School of Public Health, the Training Program in Academic Cardiology in the Department of Medicine, the Emory University K12-Mentored Clinical Research Scholars (EMCRS) Program, and the Training Program in Neuro-Imaging Sciences in the Department of Psychiatry. She is a regular lecturer in several courses and seminar series at Emory. To date, she has directly supervised nine PhD students, seven post-doctoral fellows and numerous junior faculty members.
Recent Publications
- Mallik S, Spertus JA, Reid KJ, Krumholz HM, Rumsfeld JS, Weintraub WS, Agarwal P, Santra M, Bidyasar S, Lichtman JH, Wenger NK, Vaccarino V; PREMIER Registry Investigators.
Depressive symptoms after acute myocardial infarction: evidence for highest rates in younger women.
Arch Intern Med. 2006 Apr 24;166(8):876-83.
PMID: 16636213 - Vaccarino V, Rathore SS, Wenger NK, Frederick PD, Abramson JL, Barron HV, Manhapra A, Mallik S, Krumholz HM; National Registry of Myocardial Infarction Investigators.
Sex and racial differences in the management of acute myocardial infarction, 1994 through 2002.
N Engl J Med. 2005 Aug 18;353(7):671-82.
PMID: 16107620 - Danner M, Kasl SV, Abramson JL, Vaccarino V.
Association between depression and elevated C-reactive protein.
Psychosom Med. 2003 May-Jun;65(3):347-56.
PMID: 12764206 - Vaccarino V, Abramson JL, Veledar E, Weintraub WS.
Sex differences in hospital mortality after coronary artery bypass surgery: evidence for a higher mortality in younger women.
Circulation. 2002 Mar 12;105(10):1176-81.
PMID: 11889010 - Vaccarino V, Parsons L, Every NR, Barron HV, Krumholz HM.
Sex-based differences in early mortality after myocardial infarction. National Registry of Myocardial Infarction 2 Participants.
N Engl J Med. 1999 Jul 22;341(4):217-25.
PMID: 10413733