Congenital Heart Disease / Development
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.
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