Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Vanderbilt University Medical Center received a $148,994 Project Grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), effective July 1, 2026, through May 31, 2031. This research initiative investigates the relationship between cancer therapy-related clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes in cancer survivors. The project delivers three primary research products: identification of CHIP prevalence and risk factors in cancer patients; development of a predictive model defining CHIP's impact on CVD risk; and longitudinal tracking of therapy-related CHIP clonal dynamics. These research deliverables will establish foundational evidence to support precision survivorship care models that integrate CHIP status into comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment for cancer survivors treated with genotoxic therapies such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The research leverages Vanderbilt's BioVU DNA biobank, which includes whole genome sequencing data on over 250,000 patients (including 78,000 cancer patients), to achieve these research objectives. Successful completion of the three research aims will generate clinical decision-support tools and validated risk stratification methodologies applicable to cancer survivorship care, with potential to inform personalized treatment strategies and future intervention trials targeting long-term CVD risk reduction in growing populations of cancer survivors.