[1] He then worked as an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School,[2] and was a director of Interventional Research and Cardiovascular Photobiology Laboratory at Deaconess Hospital as well as co-director of the Institute for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at Harvard Medical School.
Abela's laboratory studies the role of cholesterol crystals in plaque rupture and thrombosis leading to heart attacks and strokes.
[6] This led to the discovery that when cholesterol changes from a liquid to a solid crystal phase its greater volume leads to arterial wall tears; by avoiding alcohol use in tissue processing for microscopy, the role of cholesterol crystal injury became evident.
He also conducted research on laser systems for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and on the rare and serious unforeseen complication of lesions during balloon angioplasty (CBA).
Abela was the recipient of the 1998 Caroline and William Mark Memorial Award by the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.