Two new centers at UD serve as critical components of the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance (DHSA), which includes Christiana Care Health System, Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson University and UD as major partners in improving health care for Delawareans. The Delaware Cardiovascular Research Center focuses on the prevention and treatment of heart disease — a killer responsible for more than one-third of U.S. deaths. Ulhas Naik, professor of biological sciences, directs the center, which initially is being housed at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, with plans for a future home at UD's Science and Technology Campus. The Delaware Rehabilitation Institute, under the direction of Thomas Buchanan, George W. Laird Professor of Mechanical Engineering, brings together academic and clinical scientists and clinicians to find innovative ways to help people of all ages recover from injury and disease and improve the state of the art in rehabilitation medicine.