The gift will advance a major research initiative aimed at improving the prevention of stroke and heart attack in people living with atrial fibrillation (AFib).
The project will be led by Mary Cushman, M.D.’89, co-director of the VCCBH, a collaborative research hub at UVM focused on some of the most urgent health challenges facing society, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cognitive impairment.
“With more precise information about an individual’s biological risk factors, clinicians could better target treatments … to those who need them most.” — Mary Cushman, M.D.’89
“The ultimate goal is to create ‘personalized risk profiles’ that allow physicians and patients to move beyond the current one-size-fits-all model of prevention,” Dr. Cushman explained. “With more precise information about an individual’s biological risk factors, clinicians could better target treatments—such as anticoagulant medications or other preventive therapies—to those who need them most.”
The research could also reveal entirely new biological pathways that contribute to stroke and heart attack in people with AFib, opening the door to future drug development or new therapeutic strategies. The project began in March 2026 and will run for two years.