As a new initiative between the CCAS Communications Committee, Research Committee and the Trainee Special Interest Group, fellows from around the country will be interviewing established researchers at their respective institutions for the biannual CCAS newsletter.
Drs. Jennifer Lynch and Matthew Jolley
Dr. Kirsten Groody, an advanced pediatric cardiac anesthesia fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, moderated a discussion with her co-fellow Dr. Jennifer Lynch, an early-stage investigator, and Dr. Matthew Jolley, an NIH-funded researcher, pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist and echocardiographer who was recently awarded the Topolewski Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
In this moderated discussion, Drs. Jolley and Lynch discuss their research, their unique paths to becoming physician scientists, and the importance of encouraging research in our field. Play the video below to hear the moderated discussion!
Dr. David Faraoni
Dr. Faraoni, a native of Belgium, is a pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist at Texas Children’s Hospital. In this video interview with Dr. Jeremy Friedman, he talks about always wanting to be more than a clinician, and his interests in transfusion, bleeding management and big database applications. He also talks about some differences between Europe and the U.S., and about balancing the roles of clinician and researcher.
Dr. Laura Downey
Dr. Downey is a pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine. In this video interview with Dr. Lea Matthews, she speaks about her research in blood transfusion and hemostasis in the pediatric cardiac operating room.
Most recently, she has been studying the efficacy of fibrinogen concentrate as a blood product alternative in pediatric patients having cardiac surgery. Dr. Downey also explains that she was inspired to conduct research into coagulation because of the large number and quantity of transfusions that occurred in some of her patients. Later, these patients experienced a high degree of alloimmunization and had difficulty in being matched appropriately for heart transplantation.
Her hope is to reduce the number and quantity of blood product transfusions and hopefully prolong these patients’ lives. She also speaks about balancing her clinical and research career and the challenges she has faced along the way.
Dr. Jayant Pratap
Dr. Jayant “Nick” Pratap is a pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist, cardiac intensivist, and physician-scientist whose research leverages the power of bioinformatics to improve outcomes in children with congenital heart disease. In this interview, conducted by Dr. Divya Madhusudhan—an advanced pediatric cardiac anesthesia fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia—Dr. Pratap discusses his path from clinical medicine to computational research, the role of large-scale data in shaping pediatric cardiac critical care, and the importance of collaboration and mentorship in translational science. His insights offer a compelling look at how data-driven approaches are transforming our understanding of complex disease and guiding the future of care for the most vulnerable patients.
