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Nationwide Children’s Researchers Awarded Funding to Carry Out Groundbreaking Research on Single Ventricle Heart Disease

Nationwide Children’s Researchers Awarded Funding to Carry Out Groundbreaking Research on Single Ventricle Heart Disease 150 150 Madison Storm

The American Heart Association (AHA) and Additional Ventures have announced funding for five teams of scientists for research on single ventricle heart disease. Four researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital were included in the grant awards, building off their ongoing work in regenerative medicine and cardiovascular research. These Collaborative Sciences Awards bring together researchers from various organizations across the nation to further investigate single ventricle heart disease. Each of the five research projects funded will continue through three years.  

Christopher Breuer, MD, director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine, will study the mechanisms underlying the development and progression of Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD) — a complication of single ventricle disease. David Brigstock, PhD, principal investigator in the Center for Clinical and Translational Research, and John Kelly, MD, principal investigator in the Center for Regenerative Medicine and pediatric cardiologist in The Heart Center, will also contribute as two of multiple principal investigators on the team. Dr. Breuer’s team will use animal models to study the basic mechanisms of the condition, aiming to determine how blood flow impacts the development and progression of FALD. Currently, there are no known causes of FALD and only one treatment option — liver transplantation, which can cause additional serious health issues.  

Mingtao Zhao, DVM, PhD, a principal investigator in the Center for Cardiovascular Research and Heart Center, is one of the multiple principal investigators on a team led by Isabelle Deschênes, PhD, professor and chair of physiology and cell biology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Their research, PULSE-SVA Network: Personalized Understanding from Linked Simulations & Electrophysiology in Single Ventricle Arrhythmia, aims to investigate arrhythmias in patients with single ventricle disease, seeking a deeper understanding of the electrical properties of patient hearts using patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells created in Dr. Zhao’s lab at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. They will also explore the potential of cardiac radiotherapy, a new treatment for single ventricle patients, which aims to improve heart failure and heart rhythm defects.  

“We are proud to continue to partner with AHA and Additional Ventures through this new grant. This research will advance our knowledge about single ventricle disease, leading to new therapies and improved outcomes for patients everywhere,” says Vidu Garg, MD, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research and co-director of The Heart Center. 

Nationwide Children’s recently hosted the AHA’s African American Male Wellness Walk and frequently collaborates with both the AHA and Additional Ventures.  

About the author

Senior Strategist, Research Communications | Website

Madison Storm is the Senior Strategist of Research Communications at Nationwide Children's Hospital. She earned her bachelor's in multimedia journalism from Virginia Tech in 2021 and went on to achieve her master's in health communication from Johns Hopkins University in 2023. Her passion for transforming the complex to clear is supported by various experiences writing for consumer audiences.

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