Translational research – the move from bench to bedside – is a core part of research at the Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children’s. Most of the work we do is patient-centric; the questions raised at the bedside motivate research in the lab, which we then translate into care, returning our findings to the bedside.
Our current translational research includes work to identify characteristics and features of heart / muscle disease and cardiomyopathy. By identifying these earlier in patients, we can improve their outcomes with faster, more effective treatment. We are also working on a genetic level to understand the mechanisms that turn a gene mutation into a heart condition. By understanding these very basic mechanisms, we move closer to early diagnostics and gene therapies for these diseases.
The Pediatric Heart Network
Cincinnati Children’s is one of eight core centers chosen to become part of the Pediatric Heart Network (PHN), an organization created by the National Institutes of Health. The PHN is a select group of hospitals in the United States and Canada that conducts research studies with children who have congenital and acquired heart defects.