Garg Lab Staff
Vidu Garg, MD
Principal Investigator
Vidu.Garg@NationwideChildrens.org
Vidu Garg, MD, is the director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research and the Nationwide Foundation endowed chair in Cardiovascular Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and holds an adjunct appointment in the Department of Molecular Genetics at The Ohio State University. He also serves as director of Translational Research and is a board-certified practicing pediatric cardiologist in the Heart Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Garg completed his pediatric residency at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 1997 after which he spent five years at University of Texas Southwestern completing his pediatric cardiology training and a post-doctoral research fellowship in cardiac development and cardiovascular genetics. Subsequently, he joined the faculty at University of Texas Southwestern before returning to Nationwide Children’s. Dr. Garg’s research laboratory focuses on deciphering the genetic architecture of congenital heart disease and understanding how these disease genes influence clinical outcomes of patients affected by this disease, the most common type of birth defect.
View Dr. Garg's CV and Publications
Ruth Ackah, MD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Ruth.Ackah@NationwideChildrens.org
Ruth Ackah, MD, received her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, in 2018. She is currently an active general surgery resident in The Ohio State University General Surgery Program. Dr. Ackah joined the Garg Lab in 2020. Her current work focuses on the evaluation of biomechanics and embryologic origins of congenital heart associated aneurysmal disease.
Emily Morris Cameron
Cardiovascular Research Program Manager
Emily.Cameron@NationwideChildrens.org
Emily received her master's degree in Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology from The Ohio State University in 2016. She began working at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2011 and transferred into the Garg Lab in July of 2017.
Sean Angler
Research Associate
Sean.Angler@NationwideChildrens.org
Sean received his bachelor of science in Microbiology from Ohio University in 2022. Before joining the Garg Lab in 2024, he worked in Neuroscience Lab studying neurotransmitters and SSRIs. He also worked in preclinical drug Toxicology and Pharmacokinetics studies.
Benjamin Gilbert
Graduate Student
Benjamin.Gilbert@NationwideChildrens.org
Benjamin (Ben) received his master’s degree in Biology from Case Western Reserve University in 2021. Ben is currently a doctorate student at The Ohio State University Department of Molecular Genetics. Ben joined the Garg Lab in 2022. His research focuses on the molecular and biological roles of genes involved in proper cardiovascular development.
Sarah Hernandez, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist
Sarah.Hernandez@NationwideChildrens.org
Sarah received her doctorate from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2022. She initially studied kidney development as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institut de Biologie Valrose. In June 2025, she joined the Garg Lab as a postdoctoral fellow, where she is currently investigating the mechanisms behind gene-environment interactions and the subsequent effects on heart development.
Airines Gonzalez Velazquez
Research Assistant
Airines.GonzalezVelazquez@NationwideChildrens.org
Airines graduated from University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez with her bachelor’s of science in industrial microbiology in May 2024. She joined the Garg Lab in 2025, where she studies the mechanisms underlying congenital aortic valve stenosis and aims to identify potential therapeutics through a multi-omics approach.
Claudia Boettcher
Research Assistant
Claudia.Boettcher@NationwideChildrens.org
Claudia joined the lab in January 2024 as an undergraduate research assistant. She returned full-time as a research assistant in May 2025 after receiving her bachelor's degree in molecular genetics from The Ohio State University. Claudia contributes to ongoing research regarding RBFOX2, an RNA binding protein, and its role in cardiac development. She is also involved in clinical research to identify genetic factors of congenital heart disease outcomes.
Anupama Rao, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist
Anupama.Rao@NationwideChildrens.org
Anupama Rao earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in biotechnology from the University of Pune, India. She completed her doctoral studies in August 2023 from the molecular, cellular and developmental biology program at The Ohio State University. Dr. Rao’s research primarily focuses on cardiovascular development and repair, with a particular interest in uncovering mechanisms underlying congenital heart diseases. In January 2024, she joined the Garg Lab as a postdoctoral fellow, where she is investigating the mechanisms contributing to the onset and progression of congenital aortic valve stenosis using a multi-omics approach.
Dymonn Johnson, PhD
Postdoctoral Scientist
Dymonn.Johnson@NationwideChildrens.org
Dymonn received her bachelor’s and master’s degree in biology from Jackson State University. In August 2025, she completed her doctoral studies from the Molecular Genetics and Genomics program at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. She joined the Garg Lab in September 2025. Her research focuses on investigating the molecular and genetic causes of CHD.
Rohan Kavali
Undergraduate Research Intern
Rohan is currently attending Ohio State University pursuing a bachelor’s of science in neuroscience. He joined the Garg Lab in the Fall of 2025 and aims to help uncover mechanisms contributing to congenital heart disease in the hopes of bettering outcomes for patients.
Katherine Spayde
Genetic Counselor
Katherine.Myers@NationwideChildrens.org
Katherine Spayde, MS, CGC, is a licensed and certified genetic counselor who specializes in cardiovascular genetics. Kate received her master's degree in Genetic Counseling from The Ohio State University and has been at Nationwide Children's Hospital since 2019. She sees patients with cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, and congenital heart defects. Kate is also involved in clinical research with the Garg Lab to identify genetic causes of cardiovascular disease in families.
Postdoctoral Fellows
- Asha Acharya, PhD: Instructor, UT Southwestern Department of Molecular Biology
- Madhumita Basu, PhD: Senior Research Scientist, MelliCell
- Elizabeth Bonachea, PhD: Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology), The Ohio State University/Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Kevin Bosse, PhD: Director of Research Regulatory Affairs, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Chetan Hans, PhD: Assistant Professor, University of Missouri
- Meenakshi Maitra, PhD: Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Texas at Dallas
- Uddalak Majumdar PhD: Research Scientist, Eurofins
- Sathiya Manivannan, PhD: Senior Scientific Consultant, Qiagen
- Mst Shaela Pervin, PhD: Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, San Francisco
- Caryn Rothrock McNally, PhD: Business Development Manager, Cytiva
- Chaitali Misra, PhD: RNA Biochemistry Scientist, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
- Ashleigh Richards Payne, MD: Pediatric Cardiologist, Texas
- Nita Sachan, PhD: Vice-President, Endiya Partners
- Jun Yasuhara MD: Cardiology Fellow, The Royal Children’s Hospital
Graduate Students
- Sheng-Wei Chang, PhD: Clinical Laboratory Scientist, Bionano Genomics
- Sara Koenig, PhD: Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University
- Stephanie LaHaye, PhD: Principal Scientist, Tempus Labs
- Cody Magnuson, MS: Medical Student, The Ohio State University
- Adrianna Matos-Nieves, PhD: Senior Program Coordinator (K-12 Education), Broad Institute, MIT and Harvard
- Talita Choudhury, PhD: Research Scientist, Broad Institute, MIT and Harvard
- Mona Aljuhani, PhD
Research Staff
- Sara Adamczak, MS: Clinical Research Coordinator, Center for Gene Therapy, Nationwide Children's Hospital
- Darian Bauer: Clinical Research Coordinator, The Ohio State University
- Amelia Cephas: Graduate Student, Vanderbilt University
- James Feller, PhD: Biological Scientist, PIBO Monitoring Program, U.S. Forest Service
- Sara Fitzgerald-Butt, MS, LCGC: Assistant Professor of Clinical Medical & Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine
- Holly Girard, BS
- Hannah Huang: Senior Research Associate, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Aiman Khan, MS: Scientific Content Engineer at CAS (A division of the American Chemical Society)
- Amanda Krysiak, DDS: Dentist, Texas
- Kate Myers, MS, LCGC: Genetics Counselor, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- Haley Nichols Yott, PA: Physician Assistant, Cook Children’s Healthcare System, Texas
- Hubert Pan, MD: Radiation Oncologist, Sutter Health, California
- Paige Sanchez: Business Analyst, Huntington Bank
- Marie Schluterman Burdine, PhD: Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
- Sarah Greskovich, BS: Medical Student, Case Western Reserve University