Innovative Research on Single Ventricular Heart Disease

Three college researchers receive funds to conduct innovative research on single ventricle heart disease

Author: Kelli Trinoskey
August 22, 2024

Chris Breuer, Isabelle Deschenes, and Mingtao Zhao

Single ventricle heart disease is a rare congenital heart defect that alters the heart’s structure and function and prevents one of the heart’s lower chambers from fully developing. The American Heart Association and Additional Ventures are funding five teams of scientists to conduct innovative research to add to the body of scientific knowledge about this complex syndrome.

Researchers at The Ohio State University College of Medicine will lead two studies. Christopher Breuer, MD, director of tissue engineering in The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s new Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cell-Based Therapies and director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (NCH), and his team will study a complication of a single ventricle disease called Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD).

Mingtao Zhao, DVM, PhD, is an assistant professor of Pediatrics at the Ohio State College of Medicine and principal investigator in NCH’s Center for Cardiovascular Research. He 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. Together, they study a new treatment for improving heart failure and heart rhythm defects in single ventricle patients. Their study, PULSE-SVA Network: Personalized Understanding from Linked Simulations & Electrophysiology in Single Ventricle Arrhythmia, will focus on arrhythmias in people living with single ventricle disease.

“We hope to better understand the electrical properties of the hearts of these patients and explore the potential of cardiac radiotherapy,” Dr. Deschênes says. “It is an honor to join this group of collaborative and dedicated teams to address gaps in knowledge and identify clinical targets that could make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives.

Read the full story on College of Medicine News 

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