Cardiac Surgery Research
Clinical Research
John A. Kern, MD
Dr. Kern is dedicated to educating and mentoring residents at the University of Virginia. In 2014 he was awarded the prestigious Socrates Award from the Thoracic Surgeons Residents Association. This award is given in recognition of dedication to residency training. His research interests include spinal cord protection and aortic aneurysms.
Nicholas R. Teman, MD
Assistant Professor
Nicholas R. Teman, MD
Dr. Teman is a cardiac surgeon at UVA, where he directs the adult ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) program and is co-director of the thoracic and cardiovascular ICU. He specializes in all aspects of adult cardiac surgery, including coronary artery disease, valvular disease, surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation, mechanical circulatory support, heart transplantation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
Leora T. Yarboro, MD
Dr. Yarboro’s research interests include surgical simulation and resident education.
Kenan W. Yount, MD
Assistant Professor
Kenan W. Yount, MD
Dr. Yount joined the UVA faculty in the Division of Cardiac Surgery in 2018. His primary research interests include heart valve disease, enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery, cardiac surgical outcomes, health policy and health economics.
Basic and Translational Research
Dr. Ma’s research focuses on cell and molecular physiology, regenerative medicine, cancer biology, muscle and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, geriatric medicine and Alzheimer’s disease, and therapeutic development.
The Ma Lab generates and employs various animal models of human disease to explore the physiologic function of novel genes. The lab uses CRISPR-gene editing and AAV-gene delivery to investigate the molecular function of a given gene. They build the state-of-the-art microscopic imaging tools to study the temporal and spatial aspects of gene function in vitro and in vivo. The Ma Lab uses histological and biochemical means to map the signaling components associated with human health and diseases. They also partner with pharmaceutical industry to advance the basic findings into therapeutic development to treat human diseases.
Most Recent:
- Gumpper-Fedus K, Park KH, Ma H, Zhou X, Bian Z, Krishnamurthy K, Sermersheim M, Zhou J, Tan T, Li L, Liu J, Lin PH, Zhu H, Ma J*. MG53 preserves mitochondrial integrity of cardiomyocytes during ischemia reperfusion-induced oxidative stress. Redox Biol. 2022 Aug;54:102357.
- Kenney AD, Aron SL, Gilbert C, Kumar N, Chen P, Eddy A, Zhang L, Zani A, Vargas-Maldonado N, Speaks S, Kawahara J, Denz PJ, Dorn L, Accornero F, Ma J, Zhu H, Rajaram MVS, Cai C, Langlois RA, Yount JS. Influenza virus replication in cardiomyocytes drives heart dysfunction and fibrosis. Sci Adv. 2022 May 13;8(19):eabm5371.
- Sreejit G, Nooti SK, Jaggers RM, Athmanathan B, Ho Park K, Al-Sharea A, Johnson J, Dahdah A, Lee MKS, Ma J, Murphy AJ, Nagareddy PR. Retention of the NLRP3 Inflammasome-Primed Neutrophils in the Bone Marrow Is Essential for Myocardial Infarction-Induced Granulopoiesis. Circulation. 2022 Jan 4;145(1):31-44.
- Han Y, Black S, Gong Z, Chen Z, Ko JK, Zhou Z, Xia T, Fang D, Yang D, Gu D, Zhang Z, Ren H, Duan X, Reader BF, Chen P, Li Y, Kim JL, Li Z, Xu X, Guo L, Zhou X, Haggard E, Zhu H, Tan T, Chen K, Ma J*, Zeng C. Membrane-delimited signaling and cytosolic action of MG53 preserve hepatocyte integrity during drug-induced liver injury. J Hepatol. 2022 Mar;76(3):558-567.
- Wang X, Li X, Ong H, Tan T, Park KH, Bian Z, Zou X, Haggard E, Janssen PM, Merritt RE, Pawlik TM, Whitson BA, Mokadam NA, Cao L, Zhu H, Cai C, Ma J*. MG53 suppresses NF-κB activation to mitigate age-related heart failure. JCI Insight. 2021 Sep 8;6(17):e148375.
Heart failure and cancer are the top two leading causes of death in the United States. Meanwhile, heart failure is significantly associated with the incidence of cancer in the aging population. In the next 5-10 years, the research in the Cai Lab will focus on the delineation of the connections between heart disease and cancer via addressing the following two basic questions: (1) How does heart disease impact cancer? (2) What effects do cancers and cancer treatments have on cardiac structure and function? Upon understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of the mutual impacts between heart disease and cancer, we expect to develop novel therapeutic approaches for preventing heart failure-induced cancer progression and metastasis, as well as promoting cardiac repair and recovery following the cancer treatment (e.g., chemotherapy) in patients.
Currently, the Cai Lab mainly focuses on the biology of MG53/TRIM72 in human diseases with the following ongoing research projects: (1) Investigate the physiological role of MG53 and underlying mechanisms in tissue repair and inflammation in influenza virus-induced cardiopulmonary injuries; (2) Examine the mechanisms of in vivo controlling MG53 expression and the myokine function of MG53 in age-related heart failure and muscle disease; (3) Dissect the nuclear action of MG53 as a tumor suppressor in tumorigenesis.
In addition, the Cai Lab recently discovered a novel cardiac specific long noncoding RNA Camirt, and we are elucidating the role and mechanisms of Camirt in modulating mitophagy in ischemic and age-related heart failure.
Most Recent:
- Li, X., Wang, X.L., He, P., Bennett, E., Haggard, E., Ma, J., Cai, C.*. Mitochondrial Membrane Potential Identifies a Subpopulation of Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells to Promote Angiogenesis and Myocardial Repair. Cells. 2022, 11(10), 1713. DOI: 10.3390/cells11101713. PMCID: PMC9139404.
- Wang, X., Li, X., Ong, H., Tan, T., Park, K.H., Bian, Z., Zou, X., Haggard, E., Janssen, P.M., Merritt, R.E., Pawlik, T.M., Whitson, B.A., Mokadam, N.A., Cao, L., Zhu, H., Cai, C.*, Ma, J*. MG53 suppresses NF-κB activation to mitigate age-related heart failure. JCI Insight. 2021 Sep 8;6(17):148375. DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.148375. PMID: 34292883.
- Kenney, A.D., Li, Z., Bian, Z., Zhou, X., Li, H., Whitson, B.A., Tan. T., Cai, C., Ma, J., Yount, J.S. Recombinant MG53 Protein Protects Mice from Lethal Influenza Virus Infection. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2021 Jan 15;203(2):254-257. PMID: 33031705; PMCID: PMC7874416.
- Li, X., He, P., Wang, XL., Zhang, S., Devejian, N., Bennett, E., D., Cai, C.* Sulfiredoxin-1 Enhances Cardiac Progenitor Cell Survival against Oxidative Stress via the Upregulation of the ERK/NRF2 Signal Pathway. Free Radic Biol Med. 2018 Aug 1; 123:8-19. PMCID: PMC5999586.
- Khatiwala, R.V., Zhang, S., Li, X., Devejian, N., Bennett, E., Cai, C.* Inhibition of p16INK4A to Rejuvenate Aging Human Cardiac Progenitor Cells via the Upregulation of Antioxidant and NFκB Signal Pathways. Stem Cell Rev. 2018 Apr 19. 14(4):612-625. PMCID: PMC6014915.
Mark E. Roeser, MD
Dr. Roeser’s research emphasis is on treating ischemia reperfusion injury in ECMO patients. He is working to expand the lung donor pool, by rehabbing donor lungs outside the body. Dr. Roeser has combined these two techniques and has developed a porcine model that is able to rehab lungs affected by sepsis inside the body. He is also developing a stent that can be placed inside the heart to make mechanical assist devices more efficient and easier to manage long term.
Nicholas R. Teman, MD
Assistant Professor
Nicholas R. Teman, MD
Dr. Teman is a cardiac surgeon at UVA, where he directs the adult ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) program and is co-director of the thoracic and cardiovascular ICU. He specializes in all aspects of adult cardiac surgery, including coronary artery disease, valvular disease, surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation, mechanical circulatory support, heart transplantation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.