Radiation Oncology | Pediatric Neurosurgery | Bariatric Surgery | New Cardiovascular Chief | Lead Removal

New Cardiovascular Chief

Brian Annex, M.D., Brings Research on Angiogenesis, PAD

Brian H. Annex, M.D., the George A. Beller, M.D./Lanthus Medical Imaging Distinguished Professor of Medicine and the University of Virginia’s new Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, is bringing research on the use of angiogenesis to treat several conditions, most notably peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
“I’m a translational research scientist,” Annex says. “What distinguishes our lab from a basic science lab is that we are extremely disease and clinical problem focused. We’re always looking at patient-oriented questions.”
Annex comes to UVA from Duke University School of Medicine, where he served as Professor of Medicine, Vice Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and Director of Vascular Medicine. He has several grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and serves on the NIH Study Section on Clinical and Integrative Cardiovascular Sciences. Annex also has grants from the American Diabetes Association to study PAD.
Research areas for Annex’s lab include understanding the impact diabetes has among the major risk factors for PAD; the genetics of PAD; links between PAD and coronary artery disease; and novel PAD treatments including gene and cell therapy. While at Duke, Annex and colleagues were able to stimulate blood vessel growth in pre-clinical models of PAD by injecting a plasmid with genes that activate the vascular endothelial growth factor in legs. They used this breakthrough to plan and execute a human study. Annex is also studying whether supervised exercise programs can stimulate angiogenesis. To develop new PAD therapies at UVA, Annex plans to work closely with Vascular Surgery and Interventional Radiology – including Kenneth Cherry, M.D., and Alan Matsumoto, M.D. – as well as recruiting new individuals. An initial focus will be on critical limb ischemia. Annex also will have an appointment at UVA’s Cardiovascular Research Center, which he regards as among the country’s best.
“Bringing clinical and basic research together provides the opportunity to fundamentally change medicine, and that is the reason I’m doing this,” he says.
Other areas that Annex plans to focus on and grow in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine include regenerative medicine, with a focus on vascular medicine and heart failure. He also looks forward to partnering with UVA’s Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism to address cardiovascular complications from diabetes. “I want the division to capitalize on UVA’s many strengths and resources and vice versa,” he says.
To consult with or refer patients to Dr. Annex, call UVA Physician Direct at 800.552.3723.