HEART FAILURE
TRANSLATIONAL LAB

Under the direction of Dr. John Cooke, MD, PhD, Guillermo Torre, MD, PhD and Arvind Bhimaraj, MD, MPH, the heart failure translation research laboratory is conducting ground breaking research in the areas of immune modulation in heart failure, fibrosis and microvascular endothelial plasticity, cardio-oncology, and pulmonary hypertension. An exciting research avenue currently being pursued is characterizing the changes in cardiac tissue that lead to heart failure after LVAD implantation. Tissue from explanted hearts are being biopsied and analyzed for immunohistochemistry and cell specific gene expression. Since 2012, over 1200 transplant biopsy samples have been collected, preserved, and paired with matching patient blood serum, making this one of the largest repositories of cardiac tissue in the country. The goal is to identify the biomarkers and genetic markers of heart failure after implantation in order to provide treatment to preserve the health and longevity of the heart. This research team has also developed a mouse model of heart failure to study its pathology and to design novel treatments.