Department: Cardiothoracic Surgery

New technologies in the area of catheters, clamps, and, visualization devices for aid in cardiac surgery; distribution of, cardioplegia, both anterograde and retrograde as determined by, techniques in technetium pyro-phosphate scans; glucose insulin, potassium as an adjunct in cardiac surgery.

Improved endovascular procedures and devices to treat aortic lesions, peripheral arterial disease and venous abnormalities. Focused interest in drug-eluting stents and balloons, endovascular stent-grafts, including branched aortic devices and techniques for the endovascular management of aortic dissection. Current clinical research projects include drug-eluting stents for superficial femoral arterial disease and multiple device trials to evaluate stent-grafts for the treatment of aortic lesions.

minimally invasive mitral valve repairs, minimally invasive maze procedures, off-pump cabg, robotic heart surgery

Cardiac surgery simulation, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, coronary artery bypass surgery, cardiac valve disease, thoracic aortic disease

-Selective anterograde cerebral perfusion -Cardiac bypass in the fetus -Mechanical support of failing Fontan

Molecular and genetic mechanisms of aortic aneurysm/dissection development. Molecular mechanisms of aneurysm formation in Marfan Syndrome. Clinical research interests include thoracic aortic diseases (aneurysms, dissections).

Congenital Heart Surgery

His research and clinical work focuses on the development of interventional techniques for fetal and neonatal treatment of congenital heart disease, pulmonary, vascular physiology, and the neurologic impact of open-heart surgery. He developed and pioneered the “unifocalization” procedure, in which a single procedure is used to repair a complex and life-threatening congenital heart defect rather than several staged open-heart surgeries as performed by other surgeons.

In our thoracic oncology laboratory we study the biology of non-small cell lung carcinoma and mesothelioma. We have a focus on translational research aimed at identifying molecular mechanisms of development, progression and/ or metastasis in these solid tumors.

Dr. Huang’s laboratory aims to understand the chemical and mechanical interactions between extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and pluripotent stem cells that regulate vascular and myogenic differentiation. The fundamental insights of cell-matrix interactions are applied towards stem cell-based therapies with respect to improving cell survival and regenerative capacity, as well as engineered vascularized tissues for therapeutic implantation.

Surgical Innovation, Simulation and Virtual Reality in Surgical Education, Fetal Healing-Cellular and Biochemical Mechanisms

computational simulation of cardiac disease: heart failure, left ventricular remodeling, electrophysiology, excitation-contraction coupling, atrial and ventricular fibrillation, computer-guided surgical planning, patient-specific simulation

Study of micro-environment in lung cancer and pulmonary metastases, mechanims of mesothelioma.

Professional Interests: Pediatric cardiovascular surgery, surgery for adults with congenital heart disease

Cardiac and heart valve disease with experimental laboratory large animal projects focused on the investigation of left ventricular and cardiac mechanics, bioenergetics, and LV and mitral valve physiology and pathophysiology. Current thrust is aimed at understanding the mitral valve and subvalvular mitral apparatus and transmural LV wall strains, thickening, and myolaminar fiber-sheet mechanics. Clinical research interests include thoracic aortic diseases (aortic dissection, aneurysm) and ..

Research Interests: Disease of the aorta, congenital and acquired. Treatment of aortic pathology, including development of stent graft systems. Patterns of disease in patients treated with mediastinal radiation. Valvular heart disease, especially aortopathy associated with congenital bicuspid aortic valve.

Discovery, preclinical and clinical development of novel immunosuppressive molecules for use in cell and organ transplantation and autoimmune disease: a. Direct inhibitors of calcineurin based on rational drug design derived from computational chemistry of cocrystallization of drug-enzyme complexes; b. Competitive inhibitors of purine biosynthesis;

Development of an artificial heart assist device; heart, and heart-lung transplantation.

Dr. Petrossian has expertise in complex pediatric and congenital cardiovascular surgical repairs. He has published several journal articles and book chapters with an emphasis on the extracardiac conduit Fontan operation.

fetal heart surgery, surgery of premature and very low birthweight neonates, cerebral protection during heart surgery

1. Mechanical circulatory support in failing Fontan circulation 2. Pathophysiologic response to fetal cardiac surgery. 3. Various clinical projects in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery

Mechanism of allograft rejection for the heart and, lung; late chronic effects of rejection, such as graft coronary, atherosclerosis in the heart and bronchiolitis obliterans in the, lung; treatment of rejection, including pharmacologic agents, total, lymphoid irradiation, and the induction of tolerance in fetal, animals; clinical studies include the results of lung and heart-lung, transplantation, modification of immunosuppressive protocols, and, factors contributing to late chronic rejection.

Molecular imaging of cardiac stem cell therapy Heart failure Cardiothoracic Transplantation Surgical Education

In clinical research, Dr. Shrager has been an innovator studying outcomes in a variety of areas within Thoracic Surgery including: parenchyma-sparing operations and minimally invasive resections for lung cancer, transcervical thymectomy for myasthenia gravis, and surgical treatment of emphysema. In the lab, Dr. Shrager is focused on the impact of disease states upon the diaphragm. His group published the seminal paper (NEJM) describing diaphragm atrophy assoc'd with mechanical ventilation.