Texas Children’s and Rice researchers receive funding award

Two research groups from Texas Children’s Hospital and Rice University received $25,000 awards from Virginia and L.E. Simmons Family Foundation Mini Collaborative Research Grant.

Dr. Carlos Mery from Congenital Heart Surgery, Drs. Christopher Broda and Joseph Spinner, fellows from Pediatric Cardiology, and Dr. Satish Nagarajaiah, a professor of civil and mechanical engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering at Rice University, received an award for the development of an “Intelligent Pulmonary Artery Band for Patients with Congenital Heart Disease.” An intelligent pulmonary artery band would protect the lungs from unrestricted pulmonary artery flow allowing patients with congenital heart disease to wait until an optimal time for corrective surgery.

Dr. Charles D. Fraser, Jr., Texas Children’s surgeon-in-chief, and Dr. Sundeep Keswani, pediatric surgeon and surgical director for basic science research at Texas Children’s, received an award for their research project titled “Shear Forces Regulate Endothelial and Fibroblast Cross-Talk via Inflammatory Cytokines To Produce Fibrosis in Discrete Subaortic Stenosis.” They are collaborating on the research with Dr. Jane Grande-Allen, the Isabel C. Cameron professor of bioengineering and director of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering at Rice University.

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