Our Research Projects

At Enduring Hearts, we envision a world where every child that needs a new heart receives one that lasts a lifetime. Enduring Hearts is the only national nonprofit dedicated to funding critical research to increase longevity and improve the quality of life for children with a transplanted heart. 

Why we fund

For a child who undergoes a life-saving heart transplant, it’s not the end of the journey; it’s just the beginning. While a successful heart transplant offers hope in life, it’s important to know that it’s not a permanent solution. In fact, approximately 500 children receive a heart transplant every year, with the average lifespan of that transplanted heart lasting less than 20 years. While scientific advances have enhanced the graft survival rates during the initial year, long-term survival has only marginally improved.

What drives our research

Since our inception in 2013, Enduring Hearts has dedicated over $10 million to innovative research initiatives. Our mission revolves around several critical areas, including the development of cutting-edge technologies, the establishment of, the establishment of new post-transplant care guidelines, enhancing patient compliance with vital medications, and most importantly, development of less invasive procedures to combat organ rejection.

Lori J. West, MD, PhD

2025 Dedication Award Honoree

Enduring Hearts is honored to announce Dr. Lori West MD, PhD, as the recipient of the 2025 Enduring Hearts Dedication Award for her commitment and contributions to the pediatric heart transplant field.  
Lori J. West, MD, DPhil is a Professor of Pediatrics, Surgery, Medical Microbiology/Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine/Pathology at the University of Alberta, Director of the Alberta Transplant Institute in Edmonton, Scientific Director of the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program (CDTRP) and a member of the Enduring Hearts Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC).  Dr. West has been at the forefront of pediatric and adult heart transplantation for over three decades.  Her pioneering work on crossing ABO barriers led to a global impact on infant heart transplantation and significantly increased the survival rates of infants born with congenital heart disease.  Dr. West’s hard work and dedication have built a national framework inclusive of all streams of research across all organ transplants, demonstrating the transformative power of collaborative team science.  

Give A Gift to Honor Dr. West's Medical Legacy
"Congratulations to Dr Lori West on receiving the Enduring Hearts Medical Achievement Award, this is well deserved. Dr West has contributed to many improvements in transplant medicine, not limited to children’s hearts but also immunological considerations, psychosocial aspects and many other aspects. I believe some secrets of her success include her insatiable thrive to understand underlying mechanisms, never simply accept a dogma or status quo and relentlessly try to analyze the present approach for possibilities of improvement. She has also been very successful in bringing people from various specialties together beyond their own horizons in order to collaborate on solutions. She has been strengthening and supporting the role of Women in Transplantation throughout many societies and organizations in which she served in leadership roles, helping to adjust the face of transplant medicine to a modern perspective." - Dr. Simon Urschel

Our Research Priorities

Rejection/CAV

Improve longevity and the quality of a child's post heart transplant life by reducing/eliminating rejection and cardiac allograft vaculopathy (CAV)

Mitigating Early Risks

Identify and develop
pre-transplant strategies, innovations or new technologies for children waiting for, and immediately following, a heart transplant that would improve
post-transplant longevity

Beyond Childhood

Validate and implement evidence-based strategies to improve medication adherence and longevity of recipients during their adolescence and their transition to adult care

For a complete statement of our priorities please visit here.

Current Research

Contemporary Approach to Desensitization: Targeted Therapies for HLA Sensitized Pediatric Heart Transplant Candidates

Researcher(s):
Lakshmi Gokanapudy-Hahn
Institution:
Washington University in St. Louis
Year Funded:
2024
Funded By:
EH/ AHA for TRA Collaboration
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Phenotyping Net Immune State with MicroRNAs in Pediatric Heart Transplantation

Researcher(s):
Palak Shah
Institution:
Inova Health Care Services
Year Funded:
2024
Funded By:
EH/ AHA for TRA Collaboration
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Donor and Recipient Risk Matching Could Improve Outcomes for All Children Listed for Heart Transplantation

Researcher(s):
Madeleine Townsend
Institution:
Cleveland Clinic
Year Funded:
2025
Funded By:
EH/ PHTS
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

T-cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles as Biomarkers and Mechanistic Drivers of Transplant Rejection

Researcher(s):
Mike Davis
Institution:
Emory University
Year Funded:
2025
Funded By:
EH Direct Grant / Mason Trust
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Increasing Transplant Opportunities for Single Ventricle Patients: Creating the Universal Donor

Researcher(s):
Jennifer Conway
Institution:
University of Alberta (Canada)
Year Funded:
2024
Funded By:
EH / Additional Ventures
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Non-Invasive Diagnosis of Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy in Children and Young Adults: A Cardiac Magnetic Resonance, Cell Free DNA and Allomap Study

Researcher(s):
Lazaro Hernandez
Institution:
Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital
Year Funded:
2024
Funded By:
EH Direct Grant
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

MicroRNA Biomarkers of Allograft Rejection in Pediatric Heart Transplantation

Researcher(s):
Jason Goldberg
Institution:
INOVA LJ Murphy Children's Hospital
Year Funded:
2023
Funded By:
EH Direct Grant
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Non-Invasive Early Detection of Coronary Allograft Vasculopathy Using Cardiac Computed Tomography and Fractional Flow Reserve in Children and Young Adults

Researcher(s):
Tarique Hussain
Institution:
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Year Funded:
2023
Funded By:
EH Direct Grant
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Molecular insights into early cardiac allograft vasculopathy using single-nuclear multiomics

Researcher(s):
Kraushik Amancherla
Institution:
Vanderbilt Univeristy
Year Funded:
2023
Funded By:
EH & ISHLT
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Short-term donor heart interventions and long-term outcomes

Researcher(s):
Darren Freed & Jennifer Conway
Institution:
University of Alberta
Year Funded:
2022
Funded By:
EH Direct Grant & Additional Ventures
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Myocardial Stiffness and Coronary Microperfusion Assessment for Diagnosis of Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy in Children After Cardiac Transplantation: Application of Ultrafast Ultrasound Imaging

Researcher(s):
Oliver Villemain
Institution:
The Hospital for Sick Children
Year Funded:
2022
Funded By:
EH Direct Grant
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

The Role of Non-HLA Antibodies in the Development of Antibody Mediated Rejection and Coronary Allograft Vasculopathy in Pediatric Heart Transplantation

Researcher(s):
Joseph Spinner
Institution:
Baylor College of Medicine
Year Funded:
2022
Funded By:
EH Direct Grant
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Reducing Transplant Graft Dysfunction Through Targeted Immunosuppression

Researcher(s):
Karim Sallam & Seth Hollander
Institution:
Stanford University School of Medicine
Year Funded:
2022
Funded By:
EH & American Heart Association * Collaborative Science Award
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Integrating Multi-parametric Echocardiography with Computer Assisted Analyses in Detection for Early Allograft Rejection in Pediatric Heart Transplant

Researcher(s):
Shahn Amdani
Institution:
Cleveland Clinic
Year Funded:
2021
Funded By:
EH Direct Grant
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Circulating Unconventional T Cells in Pediatric Heart Transplant Recipients: From Pathogenesis to Biomarker

Researcher(s):
Stephanie Nakano
Institution:
University of Colorado
Year Funded:
2022
Funded By:
EH & American Heart Association * Collaborative Science Award
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Novel Approaches to Improve the Availability and/or the Quality of Pediatric Donor Hearts

Researcher(s):
James Reynolds
Institution:
Case Western Reserve University
Year Funded:
2020
Funded By:
EH Direct Grant & Additional Ventures
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Human Cell-Derived Endomyocardial Tissue with Functional Cardiomyocytes and Microvasculature: An In Vitro Model for Elucidating Mechanism(s) for IschemiaReperfusion Injury as a Risk Factor for Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy

Researcher(s):
Sndeep Kewani & Ravi Birla
Institution:
Baylor College of Medicine
Year Funded:
2020
Funded By:
EH Direct Grant
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

CD122 Targeted Theranostic for Detection and Prevention of Heart Transplant Rejection

Researcher(s):
David Mathews
Institution:
Children's Hospital of Atlanta
Year Funded:
2019
Funded By:
EH Direct Grant
Focus Area(s):
Rejection / CAV
Mitigating Early Risks
Beyond Childhood

Related Content