Supporting A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Atherosclerosis

Welcome to the Samara Project!

Study Overview

Samara is a joint venture between the Carolina Cardiovascular Biology Center and the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories of University of North Carolina Hospitals, with the planned future involvement of other research centers. Both the CCBC and CCL are based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The project goal is to study gene expression profiles, patient demographics, and other biological markers with respect to vascular disease in young adults. The study participants will have blood drawn. RNA, serum, and plasma from the blood will be analyzed using advanced bioinformatic techniques. The RNA will be hybridized to a microarray and anaylzed by the CCBC to ascertain genetic expression profiles. The CCL will contribute non-identifying demographic data along with detailed results from the cardiac cathederization procedure to give a clear understanding of the participant's cardiovascular functioning. The serum can be analyzed for proteomic data and the plasma can be used in metabolic studies. This study is a powerful collaboration of bioanalytical techniques that will give researchers immeasuable insight into the relationship between genes, metabolism, proteomics, and cardiovascular health. With the ability to examine the study results along so many dimensions, the potential for informative data mining is virtually unlimited.

The diagram below gives a basic overview of the study. For more information on any specific component of the study, simply click the area of interest. You can also use the navigational list below the image.