Molecular and Genetic Cardiology Program
The Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is home to a pioneering Molecular and Genetic Cardiology Program with a strong commitment to molecular research and treating patients with cardiovascular disorders that are genetic in origin.
This program is closely aligned to the Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology at Cincinnati Children's to translate molecular science to the field of clinical pediatric cardiology, with the vision of better understanding cardiac malformations and the ability to diagnose and treat pediatric cardiovascular disorders in the future. The program is housed in a 12-story, 415,000-square-foot research building that opened on Burnet Campus in 2007, strengthening and expanding Cincinnati Children's leadership in conducting world-class pediatric research.
Cardiovascular Genetics Clinic
The Cardiovascular Genetics Clinic at the Heart Institute treats patients with congenital heart disease and genetic disorders such as Marfan syndrome and Noonan syndrome, as well as patients with inherited cardiomyopathies. The clinic provides comprehensive diagnostics and advanced treatment for inherited cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular Diagnostic Laboratory
The newly formed Cardiovascular Diagnostic Laboratory offers state-of-the-art molecular diagnostic testing for cardiovascular diseases. Under the direction of Jeffrey Towbin, MD, and Stephanie Ware, MD-PhD, the Cardiovascular Diagnostic Laboratory at the Heart Institute offers rapid molecular testing of heart tissue, lung tissue, other organ specimens and bodily fluids for viruses. While these tests are focused specifically for viruses identified as causing heart disease in children and adults, as well as in the fetus, they have a wide range of other clinical applications. All testing is performed using PCR technology, providing optimal sensitivity and specificity.
The laboratory also offers genetic testing for DNA mutations associated with cardiac disease. By combining the resources of these laboratories, the Heart Institute is able to provide patients with the best of both the research and diagnostic worlds. This close relationship between the research and the diagnostic laboratories allows Cincinnati Children's to identify novel disease-associated genes and mutations in the research laboratory and transfer this knowledge directly to the patient through the diagnostic laboratory, allowing “bench-to-bedside” service.
The vision is to offer the highest quality of molecular diagnostic testing possible but also to provide physicians and genetic counselors with the information that they need to provide their patients an optimal standard-of-care.
Pioneering Research
Learn more about the breakthrough research taking place in Molecular and Genetic Cardiology at Cincinnati Children's:
Read biographies of the cardiology fellows who are working in the Molecular and Genetic Cardiology Program at Cincinnati Children's.
Contact the Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children's
For more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact the Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
