Research

BASIC RESEARCH
CLINICAL, PHARMACOLOGIC AND DEVICE TRIALS
PUBLICATIONS

Comprehensive Cardiovasculare Care Group physicians perform basic and clinical research. Basic research is done in the laboratory located in the Winter Research Building (Aurora Sinai Medical Center campus), which contains a 5,000 sq-ft facility and two 450 sq-ft rooms for surgical investigations.

Equipment includes a dedicated Hewlett Packard SONOS 2000 REM echocardiograph with 5.0/3.7 MHz DEB transducer and an Omniplane II TEE transducer, an HP SONOS IVUS intracavitary echocardiograph, Endocardial Solutions Ensite 300 mapping system, Biosense CARTO electroanatomical mapping system, and other state-of-the-art monitoring, stimulation, mapping, and ablation systems.

Comprehensive Cardiovasculare Care Group physicians participate in clinical, pharmaceutical and device trials, in an ongoing endeavor to bring the latest technology and pharmaceuticals to their patients.

Clinical surgical investigations are conducted at both the St. Luke's Medical Center and the Aurora Sinai Medical Center campuses.

JASBIR SRA, MD
Director, Basic Electrophysiology Research

Jasbir Sra, MD has been a member of our faculty since 1990 and has been very active in research. He was the first American Clinical Investigator to implant an atrial defibrillator, now an important therapy in a subset of patients with this troublesome arrhythmia.

Dr. Sra’s current research is more focused on understanding the mechanisms of atrial fibrillation (AF), creating an experimental model followed by application in humans with AF in order to provide a permanent cure. He is at the verge of developing new technologies which will help his AF-related endeavors. Atrial arrhythmias come in many forms and originate in the upper chambers. Dr. Sra has learned that there are a variety of these arrhythmias with subtle differences, and new mapping techniques are critical in making the distinction to achieve good results. Dr. Sra is currently conducting research to determine the mechanisms and best ablation strategies for treating these atypical atrial flutters.

Another ongoing research interest in the field of electrophysiology is cardiac pacing for patients with heart failure. Dr. Sra is currently working to develop optimal pacing lead delivery systems for implantation into patients with heart failure.

In 1995, at the invitation of one India’s most prestigious medical centers, Dr. Sra helped implanted the first multi-programmable defibrillator for ventricular arrhythmia in the Indian subcontinent. He also helped establish the first Indian catheter ablation program

Dr. Sra is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Diseases and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology. He is a member (and abstract grader) of the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology (NASPE), and the American Heart Association.

NEIL BRYAN OLDRIDGE, PhD
Director, Fellowship Research & Cardiac Rehabilitation Comprehensive Cardiovascular Care Group

Board Certifications: Preventive and Rehabilitative Exercise Program Director (American College of Sports Medicine)

Research interests: Patient outcomes research. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation. Patient health-related quality of life.

Dr. Oldridge is the Director of Fellowship Research for the cardiology and electrophysiology fellows of Aurora Sinai Medical Center and is responsible for guiding fellows in the development of research protocols and projects and for mentoring and training fellows in the techniques and outcomes of cardiac rehabilitation. Dr. Oldridge teaches a regular research seminar series for fellows with a focus on cardiovascular disease prevention and rehabilitation.

Dr. Oldridge received his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, Madison after completing undergraduate studies including a B.A. in South Africa and M.A. at the University of Florida. He has extensive experience in research and has written and contributed to several dozen books and well over a hundred articles in peer-reviewed journals. His honors include the Citation Award from the American College of Sports Medicine, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Foundation Research Award, the M. Pollock Established Researcher Award from the American Association for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, and the Peter Beckmann Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Research in Cardiac Rehabilitation from the German Society of Prevention and Rehabilitation of Cardiovascular Disease. He is a former President of the American College of Sports Medicine.

He is Clinical Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin and Professor Emeritus and Senior Scientist in the College of Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is also an Adjunct Professor of Health Sciences at Indiana University and the Medical College of Wisconsin; he has held positions as Professor of Health Sciences and Medicine, Indiana University and Professor of Kinesiology and Medicine at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Oldridge has been invited as visiting professor at major universities in Hong Kong and South Africa and was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford in California. He has served on several NIH expert panels and journal editorial panels regarding health research and cardiac rehabilitation and is a member of several professional organizations including the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Association of Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the European Society of Cardiology and the European Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.

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