Center for Cardiovascular Research

The mission of the Center for Cardiovascular Research is to conduct innovative, mechanism-based research leading to improved therapies and outcomes for pediatric cardiovascular diseases and to foster preventive strategies and promote cardiovascular health in adults.

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The Abigail Wexner Research Institute is ranked among the top 10 for NIH funding among free-standing children's hospitals.

Our Areas of Focus

  • Genetics of Congenital Heart Disease
  • Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Heart and Blood Vessel Development
  • Congenital and Acquired Heart Valve Disease
  •  Micro- and Macro-Vascular Remodeling and Aortic Aneurysmal Disease
  •  Cardiac Regeneration and Stem Cell Biology

Center Extramural Grant Funding

Investigator Title Sponsor Award Years
Vidu Garg Epigenetic Mechanisms Underlying Maternal Diabetes Associated Cardiac Malformations NIH/NHLBI 2019 - 2024
Vidu Garg
Carl Backes
Integrative Research Training Program in Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Disease (T32) NIH/NHLBI 2023 - 2028

 Vidu Garg
Deena Chisolm

 Research Experiences in Childhood Heart, Lung, and Blood Science- REACH LABS (R25)  NIH/NHLBI  2023-2028
Vidu Garg
Peter White
A Multi-omic approach towards improving candidate gene identification and variant prioritization in patients with congenital heart disease NIH/NHLBI 2022 - 2023
Deqiang Li Cardiac regeneration by histone deacetylases NIH/NHLBI 2022 - 2025
Brenda Lilly
Aaron Trask
The Role of Notch Signaling in Type 2 Diabetic Coronary Microvascular Disease NIH/NHLBI 2023 - 2027
Mingtao Zhao Dissecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in Down syndrome with congenital heart defects using patient-specific iPSCs NIH/NHLBI 2022 - 2024
Mingtao Zhao An integrated human stem cell model for elucidating myocardial-endocardial interactions in cardiac development and disease NIH/NHLBI 2021 - 2026
Vidu Garg Nationwide Children’s Hospital Summer Undergraduate Research Program AHA 2022 - 2024
Jihyun Jang Histone modifier determines chamber-specific cardiomyocyte proportions from human pluripotent stem cell cardiac lineage AHA 2023 - 2025
Jihyun Jang Endocardial Zinc Transporter Regulates Ventricular Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy AHA 2023 - 2026
Deqiang Li Hdac7 enhances adult heart repair AHA 2021 - 2023
Mingtao Zhao Precision modeling of single ventricle heart defects using patient- and chamber-specific cardiac organoids AHA 2023 - 2025
Mingtao Zhao Maternal blood biomarker discovery for predicting ventricular growth in human fetuses with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA-IVS) Additional Ventures 2021 - 2024

Join Our Team

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Integrative Research Training in Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Disease Fellowship

This T32 Fellowship Program provides state-of-the-art research training in pediatric heart and lung diseases.

Med Pros

Join the Center for Cardiovascular Research Team

Click here to view a list of our current openings at the Center for Cardiovascular Research.

Med Pros

Summer 2024 Training Opportunities for Undergraduate Students

Rising juniors and seniors can explore science careers and experience multidisciplinary research at AWRI firsthand through a 10-week, paid summer research opportunity funded by the American Heart Association.

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Patient-Centered Pediatric Research Program

The Patient-Centered Pediatric Research Program prepares postdoctoral fellows to engage in independent outcomes research in child health settings and become leaders in the conduct of patient- and family-centered outcomes research.

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Research Pathway

The Integrated Research Pathway is an American Board of Pediatrics  approved mechanism for pediatric residency training. Learn more about this program and the application process. 

Research Institute Training Association (RITA)

Trainee Association

The Research Institute’s Trainee Association (RITA) was created in 2013 to help better train and prepare trainees for their “next steps.”

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Office of Trainee Affairs (OTA)

Research education and training is vital to the mission of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children's Hospital. As a top 10 free-standing pediatric research center and an academic affiliate of The Ohio State University, AWRI has an outstanding faculty dedicated to

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DISCOVERYx: The Stories Behind Discovery

Learn more about research and academic events going on at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

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Life in Columbus

Vibrant neighborhoods. Unlimited arts and entertainment. Learn why Columbus, Ohio is a great place to live, work and play. 

Inside the Center for Cardiovascular Research