Contact: Rob Ostrander 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Monday, May 10, 2004

COLUMBIA, MO - Senator Kit Bond today celebrated the opening of the new research facilities at the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC). These new facilities will enhance research on heart disease, the nation’s number one killer and leading cause of disability.

"I am confident this investment will enhance the life sciences and biomedical research on the MU campus and fulfill the promise of Dalton as a world leader in cardiovascular research," said Bond. "Even more important, and this is the real bottom line: the research being conducted here will improve people’s lives all over the world."

As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Bond secured $1.8 million in federal dollars in fiscal year 2001 to improve and expand the research and laboratory facilities at Dalton.

Bond stressed that there has been great progress in diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease, but research expansion is critical. Over 930,000 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each year, which amounts to one death every 34 seconds. Over 64 million Americans, almost one-fourth of the population, live with cardiovascular disease. Coronary heart disease is a leading cause of premature, permanent disability in the U.S. workforce. Stroke alone accounts for disability among more than 1 million Americans. Over 6 million hospitalizations each year are due to cardiovascular disease.

Prior to the new expansion, the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center had inadequate research infrastructure to conduct their programs. The new 6,600 square ft. research facilities will provide the needed facilities to place new investigators researching cardiovascular health.