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Michael Gaies, MD, Named Executive Co-Director of Cincinnati Children’s Heart Institute

Monday, December 04, 2023

Michael Gaies, MD

Cincinnati Children’s is pleased to announce that Michael Gaies, MD, MPH, MS has been named executive co-director of the Heart Institute, effective immediately. Gaies has also been named division director of Pediatric Cardiology and Kindervelt Samuel Kaplan Chair in Cardiology. He joins current Heart Institute executive co-directors Jeffery Molkentin, PhD, and David Morales, MD.

“I am very excited to partner with Michael as the new co-director of the Heart Institute in continuing the mission of making our heart program the very best in the country in terms of outcomes for our patients and innovative new treatments for congenital heart disease and related cardiovascular maladies,” Molkentin said. “Michael is a leading expert in data analytics and assessing the best course of clinical treatment, formulated across national pediatric cardiology programs, for our patients. He has an exciting vision for the future, and I look forward to us all continuing to move upwards together.”

Gaies, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, joined Cincinnati Children’s in February of 2022 as the medical director of the Acute Care Cardiology Unit. He brings a wealth of experience into this role as founder and past executive director of the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium and Cardiac Networks United. His research, which has appeared in more than 130 published manuscripts and book chapters, focuses on the use of large datasets to understand variation in system factors related to outcomes in children with heart disease, particularly those undergoing surgery or catheter-based interventions.

“I could not be more excited that Michael has accepted the role of co-director of the Heart Institute. His vision to elevate our outstanding faculty to leadership roles so that we can continue to change how we care for children with heart disease locally and internationally is timely,” Morales said. “With so many promising and innovative initiatives developing with regional/national partners, AI Flight Plan, ACTION, virtual metaverse, and more, this is an exciting time for the Heart Institute, and Michael will help lead us into the future.”

Gaies succeeds Andrew Redington, MD, who will retire from Cincinnati Children’s at the beginning of 2024. Gaies’ vision for the Heart Institute includes emphasis on exemplary patient outcomes with explicit and visible goals, expanding on the strong foundation of data science to support clinical care advancements, and a continued commitment to train fellows who will be future leaders in cardiovascular specialties.

Cincinnati Children’s Heart Institute offers a full spectrum of pediatric and adult congenital heart care from world-class cardiology experts and heart surgeons from Cincinnati Children’s and UK HealthCare’s Kentucky Children’s Hospital through the Joint Pediatric and Congenital Heart Program. This program, which is ranked among the top 10 in the nation for cardiology and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report, treats the most complex heart conditions in the country.