AHA, Children’s Heart Foundation announce 7 winners of heart defect research awards

Seven researchers received more than $1 million in total from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Children’s Heart Foundation for congenital heart defect research.

The AHA announced the winners in a news release on Dec. 6. In all, 37 researchers applied for the Congenital Heart Defect Research Awards, which the AHA and the Children’s Heart Foundation launched in 2014.

The organizations originally planned on funding $2.5 million in congenital heart defect research grants through 2016. In November 2015, they announced they would fund another $20 million through June 2021.

In February, the AHA and the Children’s Heart Foundation announced nearly $800,000 in awards to seven researchers in six states.

The following researchers received awards this month:

* Dr. Craig Rusin – Baylor College of Medicine

* Dr. Jill Heathcock – The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

* Dr. Daniel Seung Kim – University of Washington School of Medicine

* Joshua Vincentz – Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

* Dr. Andrew Meyer – University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio

* Xiaoying Cai – University of Virginia School of Medicine

* Dr. Ethan Kung – Clemson University’s College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences

Researchers can click here to learn more about the grant awards.

“Funding ground-breaking research that advances the field of cardiovascular medicine is a cornerstone of the American Heart Association’s mission,” Rose Marie Robertson, MD, the AHA’s chief science and medical officer, said in a news release. “By working with The Children’s Heart Foundation to fund the Congenital Heart Defect Research Awards, the American Heart Association is able to support vital research to develop a greater understanding of congenital heart defects in hopes of providing a better quality of life for those living with a congenital heart defect.”

Tim Casey,

Executive Editor

Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.

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