In this role, Berglund will lead the review of grant applications to the National Institutes of Health to ensure that funding goes to the most innovative HIV/AIDS research. Section chairs are selected based on research accomplishments, along with their mature judgment, objectivity and ability to lead group discussions on issues of scientific merit.
Berglund is director of the UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center, where he has fostered collaboration among investigative teams representing a broad range of disciplines to rapidly translate scientific discoveries from the laboratory into effective treatments to advance the health of patients everywhere. Under his leadership, research funding at UC Davis Health System has doubled from $96 million in 2005 to $200 million in 2010.
A specialist in lipoprotein metabolism and cardiovascular health, Berglund's research has identified distinctions in the onset and progress of heart disease among different populations with the ultimate goal of tailoring therapies to meet patients' specific needs. He is an expert in the cardiovascular risks of long-term use of antiretroviral therapies used to treat HIV/AIDS.
He has published nearly 200 peer-reviewed papers and is a member of the editorial board of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism and Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. In addition to serving as a member of the NIH study section he now chairs, he is a member of the American Heart Association Peer Review Committee and the clinical guidelines subcommittee of the Endocrine Society.
Berglund's two-year term as chair of the committee began on July 1, 2010.
The UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center is part of a national consortium, led by the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health, which is improving how biomedical research is conducted across the nation. Its goals are to reduce the time it takes for research discoveries to become treatments for patients, as well as to train the next generation of clinical researchers.