California Heart Center Foundation

Programs: The mission of the california heart center foundation is to advance the field of cardiovascular medicine through clinical research initiatives and educational initiatives. Our efforts include the pursuit of collaborative research projects which promote a deeper understanding of disease progression and test the efficacy of new strategies for diagnosis and treatment. Areas of research currently being pursued include non-invasive methods to detect organ rejection, novel immunosuppressive agents, immune monitoring strategies, long-term complications such as cardiac allograft vasculopathy, (continued on schedule o)(continuation from form 990, page 2)novel methods for organ procurement and preservation, new mechanical circulatory support devices and pulmonary hypertension. The organization also supports important scientific symposia, which allow for the exchange of ideas among leaders in the field and provide a forum for experts to share their experience and knowledge with other practitioners. The organization resources are also leveraged to support a summer research internship program for undergraduate students with an interest in medicine and/or academic research. Following is a summary of projects and programs implemented in 2016: scientific forums and educational activities:* "a case-based guide to pulmonary hypertension cme" (pasadena, ca): this 1-day cme program took place on saturday, january 23rd, 2016 at the westin pasadena. The program, designed for primary care physicians, pulmonologists, rheumatologists, cardiologists and other affiliated staff interested in the prevention and management of pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary arterial hypertension drew 73 participants from across southern california. Nine expert faculty spoke on the latest diagnostic and therapeutic advances for patients with ph/pah with didactic lectures, a series of case presentations, and audience participation. Overall the program was very well received. * "cutting edge of transplantation (ceot)", february 25th - 27th, 2016 (phoenix, arizona): this meeting, planned by the american society of transplantation, featured a special "heart track" that was chaired by dr. Jon kobashigawa and sponsored by the cedars-sinai heart institute. Focused on the theme of "resolving the organ shortage", the heart track featured 5 dedicated sessions over three days on issues and challenges facing the cardiothoracic community, including pending policy changes to u. S. Heart allocation and innovations in the management of donor hearts. With dr. Kobashigawa's leadership, the heart track featured a faculty of leading experts in the field and attracted the highest attendance from the cardiothoracic community since the inception of the ceot meeting. * "a consensus conference on the management of antibodies in heart transplantation", april 25th, 2016 (washington, dc): this international conference, planned in coordination with the international society for heart and lung transplantation, was designed to provide a forum for an in-depth discussion among the leading experts in the field, including clinicians, pathologists and immunologists. The conference served as a first step in developing needed guidelines for the assessment and treatment of patients with circulating antibodies both pre and post heart transplantation, to improve outcomes and minimize rejection complications. Attended by 104 physicians from 16 countries and representing 73 transplant centers worldwide, the conference generated a robust discussion and helped to identify a pathway to the development of guidelines. Results of the conference were presented at the ishlt annual meeting and scientific sessions and a publication of conference results is currently pending. * "success with failure: an advanced heart disease symposium" (culver city, ca): this 1-day symposium on advanced heart disease took place on friday, june 3rd, 2016. Twenty-one faculty speakers covered topics related to the prevention and management of heart failure, heart transplant evaluation, post-transplant care and surgical options in heart failure. The program drew 201 attendees consisting of physicians, allied health professionals, including nurse practitioners, transplant coordinators, physician assistants, rns and case managers. (meeting sponsor: jon kobashigawa, md) * "new insights into the impact of donor hla specific and non-hla specific antibodies in solid organ graft outcome" (los angeles, ca): this 1-day symposium on antibodies in solid organ transplantation took place on friday, september 9th, 2016. Ten faculty speakers covered topics related to the testing, monitoring and treatment of antibodies in solid organ transplantation. The program drew 98 attendees consisting of clinicians, pathologists, immunologists, fellows and allied health who work in the area of solid organ transplantation. The program was extremely well received. * "optimal care & new therapies in advanced heart disease" (costa mesa, ca): this one-day symposium on advanced heart disease was held on october 29th, 2016 at the westin south coast plaza. The program featured presentations on topics related to the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure, transplantation, mechanical circulatory support and pulmonary hypertension. The program was attended by 58 people, including a number of community cardiologists in the local area. * "nih investigator meeting" (new orleans) november 11th, 2016: this one-day meeting took place in tandem with the american heart association's annual meeting and in collaboration with co-investigators at mgh and mt. Sinai. The meeting gathered 34 potential site investigators to discuss protocol development for an nih grant submission for a project investigating the early addition of il-6 signaling blockade to conventional immunosuppression in the early post-transplant period to diminish pro-inflammatory, innate and adaptive b cell responses following heart transplantation. * heart transplant preceptorships: throughout the year, we receive requests to provide extended observational training opportunities to physicians and advance practice nurses from various institutions with an interest in the management of heart transplant and mechanical assist device patients. In the last year, we hosted the following visiting physicians:dr. Tobia deuse, university of california, san franciscodr. Shadi daoud, healthcare partners of nevadadr. Binoy john, miot international hospital, chennai, indiajennifer ballard-hernandez, np, va medical center, long beachdarrel terry, ceo, newark beth israel medical centeramy moitoza, np, scrippsjennifer nowaczyk, np, scrippsruth kuo, np, scrippsjulian eigner, np, scripps* summer research internships: under the supervision and mentorship of dr. Jon kobashigawa, summer heart transplant research internships have been offered to eight students for the summer of 2016. These internships provide students at all levels of training an opportunity to learn the clinical research process, including medical literature review, study design, chart review/data collection, data analysis, and abstract development and submission. Completed abstracts will be submitted to the american federation of medical research, a forum for junior investigators. This year's group includes:james t. Kwan: university of connecticut (undergrad)kaycee ching: uc berkeley (undergrad)lauren arakawa: california state polytechnic university, pomona (undergrad)jennifer krems: amherst college (undergrad)kristen yabuno: uc irvine (undergrad)keith t. Nishihara: uc berkeley (undergrad)michael hashimoto: ucla (undergrad)frank kevin liou: drexel university (1st year med student)olivia ding: tulane university (1st year med student)clinical research:this section will be formatted by title; principal investigator (pi); status; sponsor. A double-blind, randomized, sham-procedure-controlled, parallel-group efficacy and safety study of allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cells (cep-41750) in patients with chronic heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction of either ischemic or nonischemic etiology; david chang, md; enrolling; teva pharmaceuticalsa multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study to assess the efficacy and safety of oral bps-314d-mr added-on to treprostinil, inhaled (tyvaso) in subjects with pulmonary arterial hypertension; antoine hage, md; enrolling; lung biotechnology, inc.