Robert J. Levy, MD
Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology)
Department: Pediatrics
Contact information
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Abramson Pediatric Research Center - 702D
3615 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104-4318
Abramson Pediatric Research Center - 702D
3615 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104-4318
Office: 215-590-6119
Fax: 215-590-5454
Fax: 215-590-5454
Email:
levyr@chop.edu
levyr@chop.edu
Graduate Group Affiliations
Publications
Education
M.D.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1970.
M.D.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1970.
Links
Search PubMed for articles
Joseph Stokes Jr. Research Institute Faculty
CHOP Provider Profile
Pharmacological Sciences Graduate Group Faculty
Permanent linkSearch PubMed for articles
Joseph Stokes Jr. Research Institute Faculty
CHOP Provider Profile
Pharmacological Sciences Graduate Group Faculty
Description of Research Expertise
Research SummaryHeart Valve Disease: Research programs underway concerning the developmental basis for aortic valve disease, mechanistic studies of progression of calcific aortic stenosis, serotonin mechanisms in heart valve disease, and novel biomaterials for heart valve prostheses.
Gene delivery stents are an area of major interest: plasmid or viral vectors configured in sustained release preparations onto vascular stents for site specific vascular gene therapy.
Magnetic delivery of nanoparticles for pharmaceutical and cell therapy to treat arterial disease.
Selected Publications
Campbell A, Adamo A, Bektik E, Kosuri Y, Karcher C, Levine D, Ramakrishnan R, Grau JB, Levy RJ, Ferrari G.: Inhibition of the serotonin transporter and risk of heart valve disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Pharmacol. 1027: 178954, Jun 2026 Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2026.178954.Levine D, Camillo C, Castillero E, Bektik E, Kosuri Y, Campbell A, Karcher C, Krieger A, Pei L, Peng T, Zeak N, Faridmoayer E, Oyama MA, Grau JB, Levy RJ, Ferrari G: Serotonin transporter downregulation is associated with aortic stenosis, and early profibrotic remodeling is mitigated by pharmacological inhibition of HTR2B receptor. Front Cardiovasc Med 13: 1729078, Feb 2026 Notes: doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2026.1729078.
Toomey NT, Thomas TE, Hall EJ, Nagaswami C, Alferiev I, Chen JM, Ferrari G, Stachelek SJ, Levy RJ.: Vitamin-B6 Pretreated Bovine Pericardial Bioprosthetic Heart Valve Leaflets Demonstrate Reduced Platelet Adhesion and Activation. J Biomed Mater Res A. 114(1): e70020, Jan 2026 Notes: doi: 10.1002/jbma.70020.
Zakharchenko A, Toomey NT, Alferiev I, Martinez A, Laurence D, Horyn O, Karim AM, Adamo A, Takano H, Nagaswami C, Stachelek SJ, Ferrari G, Levy RJ.: Pyriphenone modification of glutaraldehyde pretreated bovine pericardium mitigates advanced glycation end products, calcification, and platelet adhesion. Acta Biomater S1742-706(26): 00402-2, Jun 2026 Notes: NIHMSID 2189925.
Feudtner C, Hill DL, Nye RT, Borovetz HS, Magnavita A, Sleeper LA, Dienstman J, Stachelek S, Levy R: Key Infrastructure Elements for Conducting Pediatric Medical Device Clinical Trials. Pediatrics 155(6): e2024069842, Jun 2025 Notes: doi: 10.1542/peds.2024-069842.
Espinoza JC, Zapotoczny G, Eskandanian K, Dienstman J, Hunter RB, Levy R, Harrison M, Lee H, Koh CJ; Pediatric Device Consortia Research Collaborative: Improving the Infrastructure for Pediatric Medical Device Trials at Children's Hospital. Pediatrics Page: e2024066974, Mar 2025 Notes: doi: 10.1542/peds.2024-066974.
Castillero E, Camillo C, Levine D, D'Angelo AM, Kosuri Y, Grau JB, Levy RJ, Ferrari G.: Serotonin transporter deficiency in mice results in an increased susceptibility to HTR2B-dependent pro-fibrotic mechanisms in the cardiac valves and left ventricular myocardium. Cardiovasc Pathol. 74: 107689, Jan-Feb 2025 Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.carpath.2024.107689.
Moroi MK, Kosuri Y, Singh SK, Xue Y, Zakharchenko A, Karcher C, Martinez A, Patel K, Abramov A, Carreon CK, Sanders SP, Levy RJ, Ferrari G.: Clinical and Experimental Studies of Structural Valve Degeneration of Bovine Jugular Vein Valves: Mitigation with Polyoxazoline Modification. Pediatr Cardiol 10(1007): s00246-025-04052-8, 2025 Notes: doi: 10.1007/s00246-025-04052-8.
Singh SK, Faridmoayer E, Vitale N, Woodard E, Xue Y, Abramov A, Levy RJ, Ferrari G.: Valved Conduits for Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Reconstruction: A Review of Current Technologies and Future Directions. Pediatr Cardiol 46(1): s00246-023-03346-z, Jan 2025 Notes: doi: 10.1007/s00246-023-03346-z.
Alferiev IS, Zhang K, Folchman-Wagner Z, Adamo RF, Guerrero DT, Fishbein I, Soberman D, Levy RJ, Chorny M.: Nanocarrier Design for Dual-Targeted Therapy of In-Stent Restenosis. Pharmaceutics 16(2): 188, Jan 2024 Notes: doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16020188.