• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Print
  • Share
  • espaƱol
Children's MyChart

Our Heart Center Research

Going to the Heart:
Why Research Matters »

Learn more about how our interdisciplinary teams help children and their families 

Committed to advancing the field and improving patient care, the Heart Center participates in and conducts numerous research projects:

Pediatric Heart Transplant Research

Physicians most recently have studied various topics related to pediatric heart transplant, including:

  • Immunosuppression using Sirolimus
  • Presence of donor-specific antibodies
  • Initiating of ECMO in infants post transplant
  • Exercise testing in heart transplant recipients
  • Outcomes following ABO: incompatible heart transplants

The team also participates in the Pediatric Heart Transplant Study. Both Elfriede Pahl, MD, and Jeffrey G. Gossett, MD, have been lead investigators on projects.

Clinical & Translational Research

  • Our Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery team has participated in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery national database since its inception in the mid-1990s. The national database contains de-identified, HIPAA-compliant patient data that helps our center benchmark its outcomes against that of other centers nationwide. View data » 
  • Luciana T. Young, MD, is collaborating with the Pediatric Heart Network on The Marfan Trial. This is a trial of beta blocker therapy (atenolol) vs. angiotensin II receptor blocker therapy (losartan) in individuals with Marfan syndrome. This collaborative study is sponsored by the NIH and aims to determine which drug therapy is more effective for patients with Marfan Syndrome.
  • Jeffrey G. Gossett, MD, is participating in the Joint Council on Congenital Heart Disease: National Collaborative to Improve Care of Children with Complex Congenital Heart Disease. This first specific study is implementing a quality improvement project intended to improve survival and quality of life of infants with HLHS during the "interstage" period between discharge from Stage 1 Norwood and admission for Stage 2 bidirectional Glenn. More about the collaborative » 

Critical Care Clinical Research

  • Dexamethasone and its effect on inflammatory response after cardiopulmonary bypass
  • Aprotinin use and its effect on decreasing the need for blood use after open-heart surgery
  • Steroid use and its effect on the stress response after open-heart surgery

More about Research & Clinical Trials


Content last reviewed: June 2011