The Foundation’s Medical Advisory Council ensures that the most promising congenital heart defect research is funded each year.
NORTHBROOK, Ill., September 9, 2019 – The Children’s Heart Foundation, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to funding congenital heart defect (CHD) research, has announced the new members of its Medical Advisory Council (MAC), comprised of 16 esteemed MD and PhD professionals from across the country, and two well respected lay reviewers:
- Jennifer Romano, MD – Chair – C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital
- John Costello, M.D., MPH – Chair-elect – Medical University of South Carolina
- Carl L. Backer, MD – Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital
- David S. Cooper, MD, MPH – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
- David A. Ferry, MD, FACC – Pediatric Cardiology Medical Associates of Southern California
- Nancy Ghanayem, MD, MS – Texas Children's Hospital
- Joseph Kay, MD – Children’s Hospital of Colorado
- Damien J. LaPar, MD – New York-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
- Bradley S. Marino, MD, MPP, MSCE – Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital
- Marla A. Mendelson, MD – Northwestern Memorial Hospital
- Jane W. Newburger, MD, MPH – Boston Children’s Hospital
- Kathryn Osteen, PhD, RN, CMSRN, CNE – Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing
- Sara Pasquali, MD, MHS – C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital
- James S. Tweddell, MD – Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
- Thomas J. Weigel, MD – Chicagoland Community Pediatric Cardiology
- Evan M. Zahn, MD – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
- Martha Hauber – National Board Chair, Lay Reviewer
- Sally Powers – Vice Chairman/Secretary, Lay Reviewer
The MAC oversees all aspects of The Children’s Heart Foundation’s research granting process to ensure that the most promising research is funded each year. The mission of The Children’s Heart Foundation is to fund the most promising research to advance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of CHDs – America’s most common birth defect. Nearly 40,000 babies are born with a CHD each year in the United States.
“The Children’s Heart Foundation is held in high regard for its dedication to high quality and impactful research,” said Dr. Jennifer Romano, Chair of the Medical Advisory Council. “The MAC works hard to make sure that the dollars being raised by the families are truly going to the most innovative research in the field.”
The MAC is currently reviewing research applications that came to the Foundation in June. All applications are scored based on integrity of the science, its significance, background of the investigator, and relevancy to the Foundation’s mission. In the review process, the lay reviewers help evaluate the potential impact of research applications on the mission of The Children’s Heart Foundation.
“With the guidance and expertise of our Medical Advisory Council, The Children’s Heart Foundation is able to fund research that will help save more children, as well as bring innovative solutions to improve treatment and care for all individuals living with a CHD,” said Barbara Newhouse, CEO of The Children’s Heart Foundation.
Since 1996, The Children’s Heart Foundation has funded more than $11.1 million of CHD research, helping lead to improved diagnostics, earlier interventions, groundbreaking procedures, and life-saving treatments for CHD patients. Our vision is a world in which everyone born with a CHD has the chance to live a long, healthy life, and that eventually, CHDs will be eradicated altogether.
###
About The Children’s Heart Foundation
The Children’s Heart Foundation is the country’s leading organization solely committed to funding congenital heart defect (CHD) research. The mission of The Children’s Heart Foundation is to fund the most promising research to advance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of CHDs. Since its inception, The Children’s Heart Foundation has funded more than $11.1 million of CHD research. For more information, visit www.childrensheartfoundation.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
