VCIRC.ORG was conceived in 2006 and incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia on August 8, 2007. IRS tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) was granted August 20, 2009, retroactive to date of incorporation.

John F. Schmedtje Jr., the executive director and founder of VCIRC.ORG, is a cardiologist and clinical scientist.  He was awarded the Cournand and Comroe Young Investigator Award from the American Heart Association National Center in 1996 for his work on effects of oxygen on expression of genes in the cells lining blood vessels. VCIRC.ORG has been created to address hypotheses proposed in the 1990’s that, although still largely untested, are even more evidently relevant to cardiovascular medicine today. The key references are linked below:

•    Schmedtje, J.F., Jr., Ji, Y.-S., Liu, W.-L., DuBois, R.N., Runge, M.S. “Hypoxia induces cyclooxygenase-2 via the NF-kappaB  p65 transcription factor in human vascular endothelial cells.” Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1997; 272:601-608.

•    Ji, Y.-S. Xu, Q., Schmedtje, J.F., Jr., “Hypoxia induces High-Mobility-Group Protein I(Y) and transcription of the cyclooxygenase-2 gene in human vascular endothelium.” Circulation Research, 1998; 83:295-304.

•    Xu, Q., Ji, Y.-S., Schmedtje, J.F., Jr. " Sp1 increases expression of cyclooxygenase 2 in hypoxic vascular endothelium. Implications for the mechanisms of aortic aneurysm and heart failure." Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2000; 275:24583-24589.

The Roanoke Heart Institute, a clinical research facility devoted to the care of patients with cardiovascular disease, is housed in an 11,000 sq.ft. building that was rebuilt in 2007. There are 3,300 square feet of wet bench lab and office space dedicated to VCIRC.ORG on the upper floor of this building, with additional conference space downstairs that the RHI will make available for use. The laboratory of Yong Woo Lee Ph.D. at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg is allied with VCIRC.ORG and provides access to the latest technology in vascular biology (http://www.vascular.sbes.vt.edu.) VCIRC.ORG is located in Roanoke, adjacent to the Carilion Clinic, and sits across a park from the site of the new Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School.

VCIRC.ORG is in a position to help build the future prosperity of Roanoke and will contribute to the development of our community by enabling understanding of the mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases and providing an environment within which new clinical scientists can be trained in the art and science of molecular cardiovascular medicine.