Research
 Faculty in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care is actively involved in a variety of basic, translational and clinical research efforts that ultimately aim to improve our understanding of pediatric diseases and our ability to care for critically ill children.
Main focus areas of basic and translational research include pediatric pulmonary hypertension, brain development and hypoxic-ischemic injury, and acute lung injury. In addition, a variety of clinical trials are conducted in the PICU and PCICU, including trials performed in collaboration with other institutions and groups such as the PALISI network.
Dr. Adatia is primarily involved in clinical research focusing on children with cyanotic heart disease and pulmonary hypertension. Recent studies include investigations of pulmonary-cardiovascular interactions after bidirectional superior cavopulmonary anastomosis and trials of therapeutic interventions for childhood pulmonary hypertension.
Dr. Epting is a researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Bernstein, which focuses its research on the role of muscle regeneration in cardiovascular biology and disease. Dr. Epting’s research centers around mechanisms of cell-cell fusion and myoblast differentiation. His work has focused on a particular cell surface protein, Stem Cell Antigen-1, which regulates myoblast proliferation and differentiation. He holds a NIH K-12 Pediatric Critical Care Scientist Development grant.
Dr. Fineman is affiliated with the CVRI. His laboratory is interested in regulation of pulmonary blood flow and pulmonary vascular resistance in the fetal, transitional, and postnatal circulations. To study the role of the vascular endothelium in maintaining pulmonary vascular tone in health and disease states, his laboratory uses an animal model of congenital heart disease. In addition, Dr. Fineman directs clinical-translational projects investigating molecules with potential as biomarkers to predict outcome after cardiothoracic surgery for congenital heart disease and is involved in clinical projects investigating agents for therapy and prevention of pulmonary hypertension. Dr. Fineman holds several grants, including a NIH R-01 Research Project grant and a T-32 Training grant.
Dr. King is a member of the laboratory of Dr. Deepak Srivastava, which focuses on understanding the causes of heart disease and on using knowledge of cardiac developmental pathways to devise novel therapeutics for human cardiac disorders. Dr. King's research interests include the biochemical and structure-function analysis of cardiovascularly enriched proteins important for cardiovascular development in humans. Her work has focused on a specific family of transcription factors named HRT1, 2 and 3 (Hairy-Related Transcription factors 1, 2, and 3) which are members of the large class of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors. Her group has identified co-factors for these proteins that have important combinatorial regulatory effects on gene transcription. In addition, they have sequenced the coding regions of HRT1 and 2 of patients with congenital heart disease and have identified mutations within a highly conserved carboxy-terminal region of HRT. Her group is currently undertaking further studies to better characterize the function of this domain. Dr. King holds a NIH K-08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development grant.
Dr. McQuillen’s research focuses on early hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and cortical plasticity. In his laboratory, small animal models of brain injury are used to investigate anatomical and physiologic changes in the visual pathways during critical periods for plasticity. In addition, Dr. McQuillen directs clinical projects using advanced magnetic resonance imaging and multimodal neuromonitoring to understand timing and mechanism of brain injury in neonates with congenital heart disease. Dr. McQuillen holds a NIH K- 02 Independent Scientist grant.
Dr. Oishi conducts his research together with Dr. Fineman, whose laboratory is interested in regulation of pulmonary blood flow and pulmonary vascular resistance in the fetal, transitional, and postnatal circulations. Specifically, Dr. Oishi’s research focuses on the mechanisms that link the abnormal mechanical forces associated with common congenital cardiac defects with the development of pulmonary vascular disease. His current projects focus on the role of reactive oxygen species and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors in this pathophysiology. Dr. Oishi holds a NIH K-08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development grant.
Dr. Anil Sapru has a Masters Degree in Advanced Studies in Clinical Research from UCSF. Although he has published research work related to acute lung injury, diabetic ketoacidosis, and post-operative management of infants following open heart surgery his primary research interest is to study the role of genetic influences on the outcomes of critical illnesses. Specifically, he is studying the role of genetic polymorphisms of genes encoding proteins in coagulation pathways and their association with clinical outcomes in patients with acute lung injury and gene treatment interactions in a Phase II clinical trial of APC in ALI. Dr. Sapru conducts his research in collaboration with Dr. Michael Matthay, Professor of Medicine and Anesthesia at UCSF. Dr. Sapru holds a NIH K-12 Pediatric Critical Care Scientist Development grant.
|
