Faculty members of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine are world leaders in the biochemistry and physiology of chronic diseases, as well as in the treatment of these diseases in the clinical setting.
For a half-century, Wake Forest scientists have explored the mysteries of arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Research on that disease, the root of most heart attacks and strokes, is still one of the largest research efforts at the medical school. Much of what we know about diet and arteriosclerosis was developed from animal models at the School of Medicine particularly using pigeons and monkeys.
Under the aegis of the Stroke Center, Wake Forest has become a world leader in ultrasound, particularly to monitor the deposits of arteriosclerosis on the walls of the carotid arteries that supply the brain. That ultrasound expertise is employed in a panoply of national and international studies. A major multicenter trial has begun to answer the question: can a healthy diet and common nutrients prevent strokes from recurring? The trial, involving 3,600 patients at 56 medical centers across the United States and Canada, is coordinated by stroke center researchers.
The Comprehensive Cancer Center has several nutrition-related projects under way.
The Comparative Medicine Clinical Research Center, an elaborate research facility in a rural setting 10 miles from the Medical Center, is a nationally-known facility for several primate species, and also has a large colony of pigeons. One major focus is on the effects of diet on heart disease and osteoporosis in females.
Researchers are investigating the relationship between chronic nutritional deficiencies and drug and alcohol abuse. Most other research efforts at the School of Medicine also have significant nutrition components.