Heart Institute
Meet the Team

Meet our Experts

Co-Directors

Michael Gaies, MD, MPH, MS

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Outcomes and quality assessment of perioperative care for congenital heart disease; multi-institutional collaborative quality improvement

David L.S. Morales, MD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Clinical and translational research related to mechanical circulatory support and tissue engineering

Faculty

Research Interests
Research population health; health equity; congenital heart disease

Awais Ashfaq, MD, FACC, FACS

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Surgery
Research Interests
Ex-vivo perfusion; partial heart transplant

Sarosh "Shawn" P. Batlivala, MD, MSCI

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Interventions for congenital heart disease; newborn screening for congenital heart defects; proteomic analysis of patients with congenital heart...

Andrea Z. Beaton, MD

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Rheumatic fever/heart disease
Research Interests
Multicenter clinical studies; perinatal outcomes in congenital heart disease
Research Interests
Research acute/chronic kidney injury; anticoagulation on extracorporeal support; teamwork; quality, safety and outcomes in the CICU

Paul Critser, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Pulmonary hypertension; bronchopulmonary dysplasia; pediatric cardiology

Allison A. Divanovic, MD

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Echocardiographic predictors of cardiac involvement in the fetus with twin-twin transfusion syndrome; risk factors for intrauterine fetal demise in...

Katja M. Gist, DO, MSc

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Critical care nephrology; outcomes research
Research Interests
Acute kidney injury epidemiology and biomarkers; heart failure associated chronic kidney disease; nephrotoxic medication associated acute kidney...

Kohta Ikegami, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Cardiovascular diseases; laminopathies; progeria; chromosome organization; transcriptional regulation; nuclear envelope
Research Interests
Emotional and mental healthcare of those affected by heart disease; mental health; neurodevelopment; neurobiological responses to stress;...

Bradley B. Keller, MD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Clinical translation of outpatient telemedicine

Shelley Kirk, PhD, RD, LD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

Wonshill Koh, MD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

Sean M. Lang, MD

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Appropriate clinical use of echocardiograms; advanced imaging including CMR and CT

David Lehenbauer, MD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

David Leone, MD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Utilizing artificial intelligence to improve the care and outcomes with those born with congenital heart disease

Angela Lorts, MD, MBA

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Myocardial remodeling

Andrew Misfeldt, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Outcomes; mechanical circulatory support; chronic critical illness

David L.S. Morales, MD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Clinical and translational research related to mechanical circulatory support and tissue engineering
Research Interests
Adult congenital heart disease; exercise testing and physiology; biomarkers; biobanking; pulmonary hypertension; pulmonary vascular disease; right...

Adam W. Powell, MD, MS, FACC

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing in congenital and acquired heart disease; hematological and oncological disorders and genetic disease; fitness in...

Mattia Quattrocelli, PhD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Muscle and heart physiology; pharmacology; epigenetics; metabolism

James A. Reagor, MPS, CCP, FPP

Associate Professor, UC Department of Surgery

Kristin Schneider, MD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

Shabana Shahanavaz, MD, MBBS

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Research focused on catheter-based intervention for treatment of congenital heart defects, clinical trials in congenital interventional...

Robert M. Siegel, MD, FAAP

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Obesity treatment and prevention; exercise and behavioral economic interventions

Elaine M. Urbina, MD, MS

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Effect of CV risk factors on non-invasive measures of the heart and arteries

Joshua S. Waxman, PhD

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Cardiac development; heart regeneration; congenital heart defects; molecular signaling pathways; transcription factors; retinoid acid signaling;...

Derek Weyhrauch, MD

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Pediatric cardiology; health care quality and outcomes; big data analytics; lipid disorder, hypertension, and obesity clinical outcomes

Ivan Wilmot, MD

Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Care of children with advanced heart failure requiring mechanical circulatory support; quality of life in children with heart failure; transplant and...

Jessica G. Woo, MHSA, PhD

Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Research Interests
Early life influences on the development of pediatric obesity; severe obesity in childhood; breastfeeding and complementary food; life-course...