Innovative Basic Research
The Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center houses the nation’s only basic sciences division that is dedicated to those problems relevant to pediatric cardiovascular disease. The faculty is a highly active and interactive group of investigators with PhDs, MDs and MD-PhDs - all working seamlessly towards the goal of curing pediatric heart disease.
Molecular Cardiovascular Biology
The Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology has both research and service goals within the Heart Institute; some of its faculty have clinical responsibilities as well. With a cadre of active researchers, we provide a strong research training component for the overall cardiovascular efforts of the Heart Institute.
Basic Research Program Grants
The basic research program is both nationally and internationally known and its faculty serves on numerous national advisory and review boards. The broad research aims of the division are directed towards understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive normal and abnormal heart and muscle development; the scientists use both intact systems and isolated cells to understand the molecular bases of normal and abnormal cardiovascular function.
With four major program grants and 14 individual grants from the National Institutes of Health, the basic sciences faculty pursue their cutting-edge research efforts. Additional successes at the national level have resulted in procuring both national and international funds to support faculty research, including substantial grants from the:
Training for the Future
Faculty members are deeply involved in training both clinical and basic researchers of the future. Our laboratories offer the MD and PhD fellows a rich research experience that is often translated directly into the clinic. Our fellows’ and students’ efforts have been recognized nationally; they have successfully applied for and been awarded 17 individual grants to support their basic and translational research efforts.
Our Faculty
Learn more about the research being conducted by each of our faculty.
- Jeffrey Robbins, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, Director, Molecular Cardiovascular Biology; Associate Chair, Core Initiatives, Executive Co-Director, Heart Institute
- James D. Gulick, MS, Research Instructor of Pediatrics
- Jeanne M. James, MD, Research Associate Professor of Pediatrics
- Zaza Khuchua, PhD, Research Associate Professor of Pediatrics
- Jeffery D. Molkentin, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, Howard Hughes Investigator, Chair, IACUC
- Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, Research Instructor of Pediatrics
- Stephanie M. Ware, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
- Katherine E. Yutzey, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Co-Director, Molecular Developmental Biology Graduate Program
Our Research
Our research efforts are varied but all are directed towards problems that are of intense interest to pediatric cardiology. These include:
- Normal and abnormal heart development and function
- Cell signaling
- Human cardiovascular genetics
- Heart failure
- Cardiomyopathy
- Congenital heart disease
- Adult congenital heart disease
- Valve disease
- Metabolic syndrome
Congenital Heart Disease
Congenital heart defects occur in approximately 1 percent of all live births in the United States and can arise due to genetic or environmental causes. However, the causes and origins of the vast majority of congenital heart malformations are unknown.
Katherine Yutzey, PhD, has made major progress in studying the developmental defects of heart valves, which represent 20-30 percent of all cardiovascular malformations. The cause of heart valve disease is relatively undefined, but recent data suggest that valve disease discovered later in life may be related to developmental defects in valve formation. Dr. Yutzey has focused on the molecular regulation of normal and abnormal heart valve development with an emphasis on potential congenital and adult valve disease mechanisms.
Death of a Heart
Jeffery D. Molkentin, PhD, was named an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute this year and is one of the very few members of this prestigious organization whose research is dedicated to understanding pediatric cardiovascular disease. Toward this end, the laboratory investigates the basic machinery that underlies cell death, with a special interest in the energy-dependent mechanisms that lead to cellular necrosis. Prominent diseases of both heart and skeletal muscle are affected by cellular necrosis. Identifying the genes that control this process should have substantial impact on the damage suffered by a child’s heart during surgery or disease. The laboratory is also interested in characterizing signals that control cellular growth, differentiation, and replication in cardiac and skeletal muscle. Once again, a better understanding of signaling pathways that control such processes coupled with an identification of novel genes could suggest new treatment strategies for pediatric heart disease.
More on Research
Learn more about the Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology and our research.
Contact the Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children's
For more information or to make a referral, please contact the Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
