Mary & Steve Wen Cardiovascular Division Research Clinical Expertise Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship Message from the Program Director Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Faculty Research Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine Home Research Research: Clinical Departments Medicine: Home Medicine: Divisions Medicine: Cardiology Medicine: Cardiology > Research Advancing Cardiac Care Through Innovative Research The Division of Cardiology at UCI School of Medicine boasts a broad research portfolio, including bench, translational and clinical investigation efforts. Our faculty is dedicated to enhancing the lives of cardiac patients by advancing medicine to improve clinical care. Additionally, medical students and postgraduate trainees are expected to participate in research during their training, with the opportunity to publish. Our Research Areas Interventional Cardiology Research Our interventional cardiology research program includes the work of Antonio H. Frangieh, MD, MPH, and Ailin Barseghian El-Farra, MD. Dr. Frangieh’s research focuses on coronary artery disease, structural heart disease and valvular heart disease. He is an internationally regarded expert in structural heart disease therapies and a cofounder of the Munich Structural Heart Institute in Munich, Germany. Dr. Frangieh is an international consultant and clinical proctor for transcatheter aortic, mitral and tricuspid valve therapies. He recently served as a physician advisor and proctor for multiple first-in-human and early feasibility trials of new structural heart treatment systems in the United States. Faculty Conducting Interventional Cardiology Research Ailin Barseghian El-Farra, MD Antonio H. Frangieh, MD, MPH Pranav Patel, PhD Heart Failure Research Our heart failure research program is led by Andy Lee, MD, and Roxana Ghashghaei, MD. Dr. Lee studies heart failure outcomes in patients with cardiomyopathy due to amphetamine usage. He is also involved in clinical research about the effect of the diabetes drug tirzepatide on adults with obesity and the efficacy and safety of a drug known as LY3540378, a long-acting protein therapeutic, on adults with worsening heart failure. Dr. Ghashghaei studies cardiac amyloidosis, in particular the relationship between extra cardiac diagnostic tests and cardiac markers of amyloidosis. Her work also aims to assess caregiver burden for patients with cardiac amyloidosis. Faculty Conducting Heart Failure Research Roxana Ghashghaei, MD Andy Lee, MD Dawn M. Lombardo, DO Cardiac Imaging Research Jin Kyung Kim, MD, PhD, is investigating the use of echocardiography to assess the risk of pericardiocentesis in patients with tamponade. She is also exploring low-radiation CT as a diagnostic tool for coronary microvascular disease and the use of left ventricular strain in assessing patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Nathan D. Wong, PhD, MPH, conducts research involving the role of coronary calcium scanning and other imaging modalities in the evaluation of cardiovascular risk. Faculty Conducting Cardiac Imaging Research Jin Kyung Kim, MD, PhD Ali Naqvi, MD Nathan D. Wong, PhD, MPH Integrative Cardiology Research Recent integrative cardiology research efforts have included an investigation of lipid-lowering nutraceuticals and complementary therapies for variant angina. In addition, our team has explored the use of electroacupuncture in the treatment of hypertension. Dr. Shaista Malik, a preventive cardiologist, is the executive director of the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute. Learn more about integrative cardiology research at the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute. Faculty Conducting Integrative Cardiology Research Ailin Barseghian El-Farra, MD Shaista Malik, MD, PhD Preventive Cardiology Research As the primary researcher in preventive cardiology, Nathan D. Wong, PhD, MPH, director of the UCI Heart Disease Prevention Program studies the relationship between lipoproteins, coronary calcium and cardiovascular events. He is also studying the long-term progression of coronary calcium and CV events, U.S. eligibility for the diabetes medications semaglutide and tirzepatide, and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with diabetes. Other researchers investigate topics including women’s heart health, stroke prevention and cardiometabolic disease. Faculty Conducting Preventive Cardiology Research Ailin Barseghian El-Farra, MD Andy Lee, MD Nathan D. Wong, PhD, MPH Electrophysiology Research David M. Donaldson, MD, is conducting ongoing studies into the management of atrial fibrillation, the antiarrhythmic drugs flecainide and dronedarone, the safety of MRI in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices, and the cardiac manifestations of Becker and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Faculty Conducting Electrophysiology Research Rajesh S. Banker, MD David M. Donaldson, MD Alicia Montanez, MD Michael E. Rochon-Duck, MD Cardiovascular Bioengineering Research Our cardiovascular bioengineering research program aims to address unmet clinical needs in cardiovascular medicine using engineering and basic sciences. Dr. Arash Kheradvar’s main research areas are cardiovascular mechanics, cardiovascular imaging and structural heart devices. Cardiovascular mechanics research includes: A study of heart mechanics to predict healthy and unhealthy cardiac characteristics according to blood fluid dynamics and cardiac/valve solid mechanics. An exploration of the microstructure of heart valves, including the spatial and temporal effects of the dynamic cardiac loading environment on native and bioprosthetic valves, with the aim of ultimately improving the durability lifespan of bioprosthetic heart valves. Cardiovascular imaging research includes: Echocardiographic particle image velocimetry (Echo-PIV) to more accurately measure multicomponent intracardiac blood flow velocity for early diagnosis and follow up of complex heart diseases. Establishing a platform for fully automated cardiac MRI segmentation and analysis to improve clinical workflow, diagnostic accuracy and efficiency of analyses for the growing population of patients with congenital heart disease. 4D flow cardiac MRI studies to predict and characterize the outcome of complex cardiac procedures on patients with congenital heart disease. Structural heart devices include: The first hybrid tissue engineered heart valve (H-TEHV), consisting of a thin layer of nondegradable mesh tightly enclosed by the patient’s own cells and tissue as a permanent solution for young patients with heart valve disease. The development of several transcatheter structural heart devices, including a fully repositionable and retrievable transcatheter aortic valve (FoldaValve), a modular transcatheter valve system for atrioventricular valves (AValve), a growth-accommodating transcatheter pulmonary valve for very young children with congenital heart disease (IRIS Valve) and an active cardiac support device (HelixCardia). Learn more about research in the Kheradvar Lab. Additional research in this field is being conducted at the Cardiovascular Innovation and Research Center. Faculty Conduction Bioengineering Research Morton J. Kern, MD Arash Kheradvar, MD, PhD Pranav Patel, PhD Our Research Faculty Rajesh S. Banker, MD Ailin Barseghian El-Farra, MD David M. Donaldson, MD Antonio Halais Frangieh, MD Roxana Ghashghaei, MD Morton J. Kern, MD Arash Kheradvar, MD, PhD Jin Kyung Kim, MD, PhD Andy Lee, MD Dawn M. Lombardo, DO Shaista Malik, MD, PhD Alicia Montanez, MD Ali Abbas Naqvi, MD Pranav Patel, PhD Michael E. Rochon-Duck, MD Nathan D. Wong, PhD