Congenital Developmental Heart Disease Research

The CVRI Congenital Developmental Heart Disease Theme researchers conduct a wide spectrum of basic science as well as clinical and translational studies. The Texas Children’s Hospital Heart Center and Baylor College of Medicine drive pediatric cardiovascular disease care through scientific discovery and treatment innovation. Funded efforts include projects pursued as a Core Center for the NHLBI Pediatric Heart Network, other funded clinical research projects, and fundamental basic science projects. The basic research projects investigate molecular and biomechanical regulation of heart and vascular development, the roles of intercellular communication in cardiomyocyte proliferation, genetic pathways involved in cardiac development and regeneration, as well as mechanisms of abnormal cardiovascular development. In these efforts, the researchers take advantage of genetic mouse models and state-of-the-art embryonic imaging and phenotyping resources established at BCM through the NIH-funded Knockout Mouse Production and Phenotyping Project for lethal lines as well as unique new technologies for cardiovascular imaging being developed by the faculty of the Optical Imaging and Vital Microscopy (OIVM) Core and other Advanced Technology Cores. 

• Multi-Institutional Neurocognitive Discovery Study (Minds) in Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) (PI: Peter Ermis)
• Fontan-Associated Liver Disease (FALD) (PI: Daniel Penny)
• Fontan Udenafil Exercise Longitudinal Assessment Trial and Open Label Extension (FUEL, FUEL OLE) (PI: Daniel Penny)
• Perceptions of Participation in a Pediatric Research Study the FUEL and FUEL OLE Trials (PI: Daniel Penny)
• Minds Imaging Ancillary Study (PI: Peter Ermis)
• (FORCE) Fontan Outcome Registry Using CMR Examinations (PI: Justin Weigand)
• Use of Oxandrolone to Promote Growth in Infants with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: a Phase I/II Pilot Study (PI: Rocky Tsang)
• Perceptions Oxandrolone Ancillary Study (PI: Rocky Tsang)
• Dyslipidemia Of Obesity Intervention Trial (DO-IT) (PI: Justin Zachariah)
• Analgesia And Sedation After CHS nn Down Syndrome (PI: Barbara-Jo Achuff)
• Team 4 Growth Study (PI: Rocky Tsang)
• Long-Term Outcomes after the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (PI: Lara Shekerdemian)
• Researching Covid to Enhance Recovery (PI: Lara Shekerdemian)
• Child Down Syndrome (PI: Lisa Noll)
• Clinical Trial First Prospective Study to Compare Efficacy and Outcomes of Shunt Versus Stent for Neonates with Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease (PI: Athar Qureshi)

• Genetic Investigations in Atrial Arrhythmias (PI: Christina Miyake)
• A Prospective, Randomized, Open Label, Multi-Center Study of the Safety and Pharmacokinetics of Apixaban Versus Vitamin K Antagonist or LMWH in Pediatric Subjects with Congenital or Acquired Heart Disease Requiring Chronic Anticoagulation or Thromboembolism Prevention (PI: Asra Khan)
• Fetal Atrial Flutter & Supraventricular Tachycardia (FAST) Therapy Trial (PI: Shaine Morris)
• Alterra: Multicenter Study of Congenital Pulmonic Valve Dysfunction Studying the Sapien 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve with the Alterra Adaptive Prestent (PI: Gary Stapleton)
• Evaluation of Contribution of HLA Type and HLA Antibodies in Survival after Pediatric Heart Transplantation (PI: Joseph Spinner)
• Development of a Risk Calculator to Predict Sudden Cardiac Death in Children with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (PI: Taylor Howard)
• Rubato (Prospective, Multi-Center, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group Study Assessing The Efficacy And Safety Of Macitentan in Fontan-Palliated Adult and Adolescent Subjects) (PI: Angeline Opina Gonzalez)
• Harmony Transcatheter Pulmonary Valve Clinical Study (PI: Athar Qureshi)
• Multi-Centre, Open-Label, Safety Study of Etripamil Nasal Spray in Spontaneous Episodes of Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia (PI: Wilson Lam)
• Building Mobile Technologies to Reduce Disparities in Congenital Heart Disease (PI: Keila Lopez)
• Development of a Polymeric Percutaneous Pulmonary Valve for use in Young Children (PI: Kwon Soo Chun)
• Surveillance and Treatment to Prevent Fetal Atrioventricular Block Likely to Occur Quickly (STOP BLOQ) (PI: Tam Doan)
• The Discovery of Novel Genes in Inherited Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndromes (PI: Christina Miyake)
• Year 4: Multi-Site Validation Study of the Hlhs Arrest Predictor (PI: Craig Rusin)
• Improving Adherence to Penicillin Among Children with Rheumatic Heart Disease in Malawi, Africa (PI: Amy Sanyahumbi)
• Investigating Parasitism-Induced Immune Dysregulation and Susceptibility to Acute Rheumatic Fever in Children (PI: Amy Sanyahumbi)
• Causal Mechanisms in Adolescent Arterial Stiffness (PI: Justin Zachariah)
• Evaluating the Effects of Moderate Physical Activity on Health and Well-Being in Adolescents and Young Adults with Marfan Syndrome (PI: Shaine Morris)
• Multimodal Chest E-Tattoo with Customized IC and Deep Learning Algorithm for Tracking and Predicting Progressive Pneumonia (PI: Craig Rusin)
• A Ready-To-Feed, Nutrient-Dense Infant Formula in the Dietary Management of Infants with Growth Failure (GROW-IN) (PI: Rocky Tsang)
• Advancing Research in Coronary Anomalies through Capacity Building and Community Engagement (PI: Silvana Molossi)
• Amplatzer Duct Occluder II Additional Sizes (ADO II AS) Clinical Study (PIs: Manish Bansa, Gary Stapleton)
• Development of a Novel Fully Implantable Circulatory Support Device with Dual-Impeller in Single Drive System for Long-Term Use in the Fontan Circulation (PI: Christopher Broda)
• Collaborative for Longitudinal Aortic Imaging in the Young (CLARITY) (PI: Shaine Morris)

• The Role of RERE and SPEN in the development of 1p36 Deletion-Related Congenital Heart Defects (PI: Daryl Scott) (Identification Number: R03HD114568)
• Mitochondrial Regulation of Calcium Homeostasis and Cell Death in Muscular Dystrophy (PI: Michael Bround) (Identification Number: R00AR078253)
• The BCM Knockout Mouse Production and Phenotyping Project (BCM KOMP2) (PIs: Jason Heaney, Chih-Wei Logan Hsu, Denise Lanza) (Identification Number: UM1HG006348)
• Regulation of Hematopoietic Progenitors by de novo DNA Methylation (PI: Peggy Goodell) (Identification Number: R01DK092883)
• Modifiable Drivers of Expansion and Malignant Transformation from Clonal Hematopoiesis (PI: Peggy Goodell)
• Mechanisms of Skeletal Muscle Pathogenesis in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 (PI: Thomas Cooper) (Identification Number: R01AR082852)
• Cytoskeletal Control of Yap in Heart Regeneration (PI: James Martin) (Identification Number: R01HL169511)
• Hippo-YAP signaling in cardiac regenerative repair (PI: James Martin) (Identification Number: R01HL173242)
• Pitx2 in atrial fibrillation (PI: James Martin) (Identification Number: R01HL118761)
• Defining the major signaling mechanism which controls spontaneous cardiomyocyte proliferation in the Neonatal Stage (PI: Tamer Mohamed) (Identification Number: R01HL178610)  
• Explore the roles of intercellular communication in cardiomyocyte proliferation and renewal (PI: Liang Xie) (Identification Number: R01HL166549)
• Impact of Infection and Inflammation on Primitive Hematopoiesis (PI: Katherine King) (Identification Number: R35HL155672)
• Deciphering the role of a circadian lncRNA in cardiac remodeling (PI: Lilei Zhang) (Identification Number: R01HL150589)
• Multimodal AI for Precise Clinical and Genetic Diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease (PIs: Lilei Zhang, Shaine Morris, Aleksandar Milosavljevic, Vikram Baruah) (Identification Number: OT2OD038054)
• Broadly applicable high throughput variant interpretation and validation for MYH7 (PIs: Lilei Zhang, Jonathan Kirk, Hassan Samee) (Identification Number: R01HL175964)

• Sebastian Acosta, Ph.D., M.S., B.S., Pediatrics – Cardiology
• Iki Adachi, M.D., Congenital Heart Surgery
• Dean Andropoulos, M.D., Brain protection for infant cardiac surgery
• Deidra Ansah, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Ayse Arikan, M.D., Pediatrics - Critical Care Medicine
• Natasha Afonso, M.D., MPH    Pediatric - Critical Care Medicine
• Rahul Baijal, M.D., Pediatrics - Anesthesiology
• Manish Bansal, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Ravi Birla PH.D., MBA, Congenital Heart Surgery
• Christopher Broda, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Christopher Caldarone, M.D., Congenital Heart Surgery
• Lisa Caplan M.D., B.S., Pediatrics - Anesthesiology
• Arvind Chandrakantan, M.D., Pediatrics - Anesthesiology
• Swati Choudhry, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Thomas Cooper, M.D., Pathology & Immunology; Alternative splicing in cardiac development and disease
• Susan Denfield, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Tam Doan, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• William Dreyer, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology; New heart failure therapies, management of HLA sensitized patients before/after transplant
• Ronald Easley, M.D., Pediatrics - Anesthesiology, New methods for monitoring and management of children with heart disease
• Hasini Ediriweera, M.D., Ph.D., Integrative Physiology, Medicine
• Peter Ermis, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Saul Flores, M.D., Congenital Heart Service
• Yuxin Fan, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology; Diagnostic tests for acquired and genetic cardiac diseases, viral myocarditis
• Peggy Goodell, M.D., Molecular & Cellular Biology; Hematopoietic stem cells, epigenetic modifications
• Srinath Gowda, M.B.,B.S., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Jeffrey Heinle, M.D., Congenital Heart Surgery
• Edward Hickey, M.D., Congenital Heart Surgery
• Taylor Howard, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Chih-Wei Logan Hsu, Ph.D., M.S., Integrative Physiology; Large scale cardiovascular mouse embryo phenotyping, imaging technology development for cardiovascular studies
• Timothy Humlicek, Pharm.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Michiaki Imamura, M.D., Ph.D., Congenital Heart Surgery
• Asra Khan, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Jeffrey Kim, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Katherine King, M.D., Pediatrics - Infectious Disease; Hematopoietic stem cell biology
• Wilson Lam, M.D., Pediatric Cardiology
• Irina Larina, Ph.D., Integrative Physiology - Biomechanics of early cardiogenesis, technology development in cardiovascular imaging
• Christian Lilje, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Aimee Liou, B.S., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Chyongjy Liu, D.O., MBA, Pediatrics - Anesthesiology
• Keila Lopez, M.D., MPH, Pediatrics - Cardiology
• James Martin, M.D., Integrative Physiology; Hippo, Wnt, Bmp signaling in development, regeneration, heart disease
• Christina Miyake, MS, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology; Inherited cardiac arrhythmia syndromes
• Silvana Molossi, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatric Cardiology
• Shaine Morris, M.D., MHP, Pediatrics - Cardiology; Advanced imaging techniques for genetically-triggered aortopathies
• Emad Mossad B. M.B., B.CH., B.S., Pediatrics - Anesthesiology; Neuromonitoring during repair of congenital heart disease
• Angeline Opina Gonzalez, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Jain Parag, M.B., B.S., Pediatrics - Critical Care Medicine
• Daniel Penny, M.D., Ph.D., MHA, Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Tam Dan (Tina) Pham, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Ricardo Pignatelli, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology; Echocardiography, pediatric cardiomyopathy, ultrasound-targeted microbubbles, Duchenne muscular dystrophy
• Jack Price, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Athar Qureshi, M.B., B.S., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Ashraf Resheidat, M.D., Pediatrics - Anesthesiology
• Alan Riley, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Ross Poche, Ph.D., B.S., Integrative Physiology; Cardiac development
• Elizabeth Rossmann Beel, M.D., MPH, Pediatrics - Anesthesiology
• Craig Rusin, Ph.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology; Physiological signal processing and algorithm development
• Shagun Sachdeva, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Katherine Salciccioli, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Aura Sanchez Mejia, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Amy Sanyahumbi, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Tobias Schlingmann, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Daryl Scott, M.D., Ph.D., Human & Molecular Genetics; Genetics of congenital diaphragmatic hernia, esophageal atresia, cardiomyopathies
• Sara Sexson Tejtel, M.D., PH.D., M.P.H.    Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Shreya Sheth, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Joseph Spinner, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Gary Stapleton, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Sebastian Tume, M.D., Pediatrics - Critical Care Medicine
• Venée Tubman, M.D., Pediatrics - Hematology/Oncology; Sickle cell disease and B cell deficiency
• Hari Tunuguntla, M.D., Pediatrics: Cardiology
• Santiago Valdes, M.D., Pediatrics: Cardiology
• Jesus Vallejo, M.D., Pediatrics Cardiology; TLR3/TLR4 in acute myocarditis, signal transduction pathways
• David Vener, M.D., Pediatrics - Anesthesiology
• Giles Vick, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Lalita Wadhwa, Ph.D., Congenital Heart Surgery
• Melissa Webb, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Justin Weigand, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• James Wilkinson, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Liang Xie, Ph.D., Medicine; Cardiogenesis and cardiomyocyte renewal
• Betul Yilmaz, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Justin Zachariah, M.D., Pediatrics - Cardiology
• Lilei Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatrics – Cardiology; Inherited arrhythmias, cardiomyopathies, congenital heart disease, heart failure, circadian rhythm, iPSC-cardiomyocytes and organoids