Heart Failure, Cardiomyopathy Research

Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy investigators focus on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of cardiac injury and repair.

Clinical trials and research studies include:

• strategies for reversal of remodeling in heart failure
• His-bundle pacing in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction
• role of medical treatment strategies including sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors
• the selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist Finerenone
• glucagon like peptide 1 receptor agonists in prevention or treatment of heart failure
• determinants of outcomes in patients requiring left ventricular assist devices or cardiac transplantation
• predictors of progression from patients with heart failure risk to pre-heart failure or heart failure
• role of comorbidities including iron deficiency
• atrial fibrillation and sleep disturbances in patients with heart failure
• implementation strategies for guideline directed medical therapies in heart failure
• role of telehealth and cardiac rehabilitation in heart failure
• mechanical circulatory support and cardiac transplantation, treatment strategies in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy
• risk factors and management strategies in patients with heart failure and cardiorenal syndrome
• association of cardio-renal-metabolic syndrome with the development and progression of heart failure
• management of obesity in heart failure

Some studies use animal models (various genetically manipulated mice) or different strains. Several laboratories also use primary human cells to validate findings from research on animal models. The mechanisms of dysregulations leading to cardiomyopathies are investigated using various imaging techniques (MRI, micro imaging, echocardiography, and Doppler). The effect of various preventive manipulations (vaccination, dietary supplementation, and small molecule agonist) are also examined.  Individual laboratories examine the following topics:

• mechanisms of cardiomyopathy in genetic disorders
• the effects of abnormalities in metabolism
• inflammation
• proteostasis
• role of fibroblast signaling in heart failure
• calcium handling and proteins involved in calcium release unit stabilization
• gene therapy of inherited cardiomyopathies
• pulmonary hypertension on heart function and individual cardiac cell types
• the effect of age (from embryonic life to old age)
• effects of sex/gender on cardiac phenotypes
• cardiomyopathy associated with chronic kidney disease

Layla Abushamat, M.D., MPH – Mechanisms of cardiometabolic disease

Steve Antoine, M.D. – Heart failure remote monitoring, medical support devices

Biykem Bozkurt, M.D., Ph.D. - Heart failure, cardiomyopathy

Marie Elena Bottazzi, Ph.D. - Chagas disease-related cardiomyopathy, vaccine development

Michael Bround, Ph.D. – Mechanisms of mitochondrial dysfunction in heart failure

Robert Bryan, Ph.D. - Cerebrovascular circulation, EDHF in cerebral arteries, traumatic brain injury, K channels

Mihail Chelu, M.D., Ph.D. - Arrhythmia, conduction abnormalities in heart failure and cardiomyopathy

Thomas Cooper, M.D. – Cardiac features or myotonic dystrophy, alternative splicing in heart development and disease

William Craigen, M.D. - Genetic disorders, metabolic disorders, mitochondrial function

Nikolaos Diakos, M.D. – Cardiogenic shock

Moreshwar Desai, M.D. - Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy, pediatric cardiomyopathy, bile acids

William Dryer, M.D. – Heart failure therapies, outcomes in pediatric cardiac transplantation

Abdussalam Elsenousi, M.D. – Advanced heart failure and mechanical circulatory support research

Savitri Fedson, M.D., M.A. – Ethics of advanced heart failure and mechanical circulatory support/transplant

O.H. (Bud) Frazier, M.D. – Left ventricular assist devices, total artificial heart research

Michiaki Imamura, M.D. – Complex heart failure management, single ventricle physiology

Jason Karch, Ph.D. – Mechanisms of cell death in heart disease

Jessica Karch, Ph.D. – Energy metabolism and G-protein coupled receptor regulation in heart failure

Choel Kim, Ph.D. - Protein kinase A, crystallography

Kenneth Liao, M.D., Ph.D. – Robotic heart surgery, valve surgery, heart transplantation, ventricular assist devices

Gabriel Loor, M.D. – Improving donor utilization and maximizing recipient outcomes following heart-lung transplants

Aladdein Mattar, M.D. – Donor after circulatory death for heart transplantation

Tamer Mohamed, Ph.D. – Cellular reprogramming to improve cardiac remodeling and function after myocardial infraction

Nandan Mondal, Ph.D. – Heart failure, heart transplantation, and circulatory support

Ajith Nair, M.D. - Heart Failure, left ventricular assist device, cardiac transplantation, pulmonary hypertension

Vijay Nambi, M.D. - Peripheral arterial disease, vascular imaging, cardiac and heart failure prevention

Ahn Tuan Nguyen, M.D., Ph.D. – Heart transplantation, ventricular assist devices, robotic cardiac surgery

Lavannya Pandit, M.D. - Pulmonary hypertension

Frank Peacock, M.D. - Acute myocardial infarction, acute heart failure, clinical trials

Daniel Penny, M.D., Ph.D., MHA - Cardiovascular hemodynamics in children with congenital heart disease

Laura Petersen, M.D., MPH - Outcomes studies for CV diseases

Kevin Roy, M.D. - Pediatric critical care

Rolando Rumbaut, M.D., Ph.D. - Microvascular thrombosis, leukocyte trafficking

Alexis Shafii, M.D. - Heart and lung transplantation, ventricular assist devices, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)

Joseph Spinner, M.D. – Pediatric heart failure, cardiomyopathy

Erik Suarez, M.D. – Heart transplantation, left ventricular assist devices

Sandhya Thomas, M.D. – Cardiomyopathy associated with chronic kidney disease

Hari Priya Tunugantla, M.D. – Pediatric heart transplantation, ventricular assist devices

Diwakar Turaga, M.D., Ph.D. – Single ventricle physiology, pediatric heart failure, post-transplant rejection

Cyrus Vahdatpour, M.D. – Pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular failure

Xander Wehrens, M.D., Ph.D. - Atrial fibrillation, calcium handling, inherited arrhythmias and cardiomyopathies, heart failure

Liang Xie, Ph.D. – Protein prolyl hydroxylation, cardiac hypertrophy, and heart failure mechanisms

Lilei Zhang, M.D., Ph.D. - Inherited arrhythmias, cardiomyopathies, congenital heart disease, heart failure, circadian rhythm, iPSC-cardiomyocytes and organoids