Herma Heart Institute

Current research and innovation projects

Funding the next wave of advancements in congenital heart disease is not always easy. Learn more about the Herma Heart Institute’s commitment to funding future research.

Below are recent fund recipients:

Herma Heart Institute research grants

Childhood after Heart-Lung Failure: The Risk Environment and Impact of Mechanical Circulatory Support on Functional Outcomes — Krisjon Rae Olson, Ph.D., Mary Homan, PhD, Michael Mitchell, MD, D. Woodrow Benson, MD, PhD
Enhancing Healthcare Management of Pediatric Heart Disease by Connecting School Health Plans to Medical Care Teams — Cheryl Brosig, PhD, Pippa Simpson, PhD, Kyle Landry, MS, Christie Ruehl, JD, MBA
Mechanisms underlying the effects of MYH6 variants in Congenital Heart Disease —Michael Mitchell, MD, Aoy Mitchell, PhD, Sara Creighton, MD, Aron Geurts, PhD, John Lough, PhD, Jeanne James, MD, Robert Fitts, PhD, Jennifer Strande, MD, Pippa Simpson, PhD
Exploring endothelial restoration as a therapeutic target in the treatment of congenital bicuspid aortic valve disease — Joy Lincoln, PhD, Michaela Patterson, Michael Mitchell, MD
Herma Heart Institute Cardiovascular Repository Program for Personalized Medicine — Joy Lincoln, PhD, Michael Mitchell, MD, Aoy Tomita-Mitchell, PhD
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations in univentricular congenital heart disease — Andrew Spearman, MD

Herma Heart Institute quality improvement grants

Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms Quality Improvement — Terri Konkel, RN, Dr. Cheryl Brosig, PhD, Pat Stoll, MSW, Leslie Scott, Laura Rohowetz, PNP, Katie Kogutkiewicz, RN, BSN, Michelle Peritz, RN, BSN, Sydney Allen MPH, David Saudek MD, Mike Mitchell MD
Improving Care through the Herma Heart Institute’s Clinical Informatics Data Portal — David Saudek, MD, Aaron Kinney, DBA, Julie Lavoie, MSN, RN, Angie Klemm, Stephanie Handler, MD, Nancy Rudd, APNP, Kathy Mussatto, PhD, RN, Francis Kim, MD, Sydney Allen, MPH, Nicholas Peterson
MI-SMART Plan Improvement Project for School-Aged Cardiac Patients — Kyle Landry, MS

Herma Heart Institute Programmatic grants

Below are just a few of the many nationally-funded projects our team is leading:

A better way to predict heart transplant rejection

We are leading a multi-center NIH-funded study that provides a more cost-effective and non-invasive alternative to biopsy testing. While the research continues and expands to include other organs, we are proud to offer this test to our heart transplant families.

A new diagnostic tool for high-risk pregnancies

We are in the midst of a four-year NIH-funded study that explores the use of fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG), a potentially more accurate test to detect the highest risk pregnancies with fetal heart defects. Learn more about this study in the Fetal Heart Foundation's Connexions magazine.

Exploring heart disease with NASA

We received a $1.8 million grant from NASA to define the relationship between radiation exposure and heart disease, and determine effective treatments to counteract the negative impacts of exposure.

The Stanford Virtual Heart

Developed by Lighthaus Inc. with the support of the Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center at Stanford and Oculus VR, the Stanford Virtual Heart is a cutting-edge virtual reality education tool. The Herma Heart Institute is currently one of 20 pediatric hospitals with The Stanford Virtual Heart. Watch this video to learn how else we’re using the Stanford Virtual Heart at the Herma Heart Institute.

The Heart Summit

Our annual Heart Summit is an immersive experience that gives unprecedented access to the inside of the operating room. Every fall, a group of some of the world’s greatest medical minds come to gather to watch an open-heart surgery live in 3D while interacting in real-time with the surgeon. Read more about our recent Heart Summit topics:

3D surgical encyclopedia

With the help of our 3D camera, we continue to grow our collection of recorded surgical procedures in a 3D format. These recordings will help enhance education and training for the next wave of providers at peer institutions across the world.

Interstage home monitoring app

Along with being the pioneers of the Interstage Home Monitoring approach, we led the way into the digital frontier by translating the program into a mobile app. This new platform eliminated the need for binders of papers and a flurry of phone calls, and ultimately reduced the stress for parents. Learn about the Interstage Home Monitoring app and other new technologies at our heart center.

Read more about the congenital heart disease research underway at our dedicated research labs: