Congenital Heart Disease / Development Program

Director: Dr. Jon Epstein

The Congenital Heart Disease / Development research program unit focuses on genetic, molecular and translational research and teaching relevant to our further understanding of the etiology of developmental cardiovascular malformations. Activities in this arena will contribute directly to the understanding and treatment of congenital heart disease in both pediatric and adult populations and to the elucidation of basic mechanisms of cardiac, endothelial and vascular smooth muscle development and function.

Areas of basic science investigation include the use of animal models (including mouse and zebrafish) to determine molecular pathways that regulate cardiovascular specification and morphogenesis. Translational work includes the genetic evaluation of infants and adults with congenital cardiovascular disorders spanning populations at Penn, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania, and the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program.

Investigators contributing to this program may derive from across the University, including Penn, HUP, CHOP, the School of Veterinary Medicine, the Pennsylvania Muscle Institute, the Departments of Genetics and Cell and Developmental Biology and elsewhere.

The Cardiovascular Development research program unit is supported by Core Facilities, including the Histology and Gene Expression Core, the Transgenic and Knockout Core, the Microsurgery and Mouse Physiology Core and the Cardiovascular Genetics Core.