Making a Difference

Caesar is a 15-year-old who was born with sickle cell disease. After years of fighting, he received a bone marrow transplant at NIH in September 2021 that cured him. Caesar is also an accomplished violinist.

Dr. Jonathan Yap researches heart attacks at the Hawaii Center for Cardiovascular Research. As a teen, a surfing accident rendered him quadriplegic, but with the support of NIH training programs, he followed his passion for science.

Samay is a small business that develops tools for detecting and monitoring chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) at home. Thanks to funding in part by NHLBI, Samay has improved their prototype and is testing it in clinical trials.

The Framingham Heart Study is a large population and epidemiology study started over 75 years ago and follows multiple generations to help determine what factors lead to heart disease. Three generations of the Fair family have participated in the study.

Respiratory Health Association (RHA), a partner of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Breathe Better Network, brings evidence-based information on asthma, COPD, and other lung diseases to communities.

The BLOODSAFE program, one of NHLBI's global initiatives, is conducting translation research to improve blood safety and increase blood donations in low-income and lower middle-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Farmworker Association of Florida (FWAF) promotes workplace health and safety in Florida’s farmworker communities. This non-profit, grassroots organization runs community-based events that give people access to more resources to stay healthy.

NHLBI BioData Catalyst® (BDC) is a cloud-based data science ecosystem that offers researchers data, analytical tools, applications, and workflows in secure workspaces to help them find, access, share, and store large heart, lung, blood, and sleep datasets

Breathe California of the Bay Area, Golden Gate, and Central Coast (Breathe California) has promoted evidence-based lung health in California’s Bay Area for more than 110 years. The organization helps fight lung disease in all forms.

Dr. Elaheh (Ellie) Rahbar is a biomedical engineering professor who studies traumatic injuries, emergency medicine, and blood transfusions. In 2019, Dr. Rahbar received a K25 supplement award from NHLBI that allowed her to continue her research.

The Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) actively addresses health disparities and inequities related to heart disease. ABC is based in Washington, DC, with over 2,000 cardiologists and health workers worldwide.

Gbenga Ogedegbe, M.D., is a professor of population health and medicine at New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine. He is also the director of the Institute for Excellence in Health Equity at NYU Langone Health.

The Integrated Tracking, Referral, and Electronic Decision Support, and Care Coordination (I-TREC) program aims to improve high blood pressure and diabetes management in health care settings. Dr. Nikhil Tandon leads the program.

The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) is a large women’s health study sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) that examines the major causes of heart disease, cancer, and other serious health conditions.

Shu Chien, M.D., is the University Professor Emeritus of Bioengineering and Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. At age 92, he is the longest active National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)-funded principal investigator.