Description of Clinical Expertise

I am an attending physician in the Division of Cardiac Critical Care at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. My clinical training is in both Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. My clinical interests are in the management of severe heart failure and mechanical circulatory support in children. I am specifically interested in the management of anticoagulation in patients on MCS, including ventricular assist devices and ECMO. I am the Associate Director of the Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics ICU and have led collaborative efforts at CHOP to revise our antiplatelet protocols, resulting in a substantial decrease in the rate of stroke in children support by VAD. Additionally, I lead Cardiac Center efforts to optimize and standardize vascular access in our patients, and co-lead Cardiac Center point-of-care ultrasound education and implementation.

Description of Research Expertise

My research focuses on optimizing anticoagulation in children on mechanical circulatory support, in order to minimize the risk off major complications such as stroke and hemorrhage. I have developed novel protocols for the management of platelet inhibition in these patients, and am engaged in clinical research evaluating their impact. I have also developed and studied novel techniques for ultrasound-guided placement of umbilical access in neonates, resulting in an improvement in perinatal and perioperative vascular access in this high-risk population. Thirdly, I collaborate actively with investigators at the University of Pennsylvania to develop gene therapies for muscular dystrophy that effectively alleviate the cardiomyopathy from which many of these patients ultimately succumb. This collaboration involves the development of novel, functional assays to assess cardiorespiratory reserve and the muscular and cardiovascular response to exercise in mouse models of DMD.