LB4. Prospective, Single Center Randomized Control Trial to Evaluate the Safety and Feasibility of a Novel Allogenic Mesenchymal Precursor Cell Therapy in Patients with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome

Michael Ma, MD is Assistant Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University’s School of Medicine. He serves as Chief for the Division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, and Surgical Director for the Complex Biventricular Reconstruction and Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Therapies programs. His clinical practice encompasses all aspects of congenital heart disease, with an emphasis on complex reconstructive procedures for achieving biventricular circulation, rehabilitating pulmonary artery pathologies, and device therapy for end-stage heart failure.

Dr. Ma’s translational research utilizes biomechanical engineering principles to optimize existing treatments and develop new procedures and therapies, through collaborations between the Schools of Medicine and Engineering. His lab focuses on understanding the atrioventricular valve in single and complex biventricular circulations; de novo surgical repair strategies and devices are evaluated in computational, ex vivo, and large animal models.

Rachel Wittenberg is an MD/MPH candidate at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago in 2017 and researched tuberculosis vaccine development for two years at the University of Oxford prior to medical school. She is interested in congenital heart surgery and biventricular repair strategies for patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome as well as medical education and improving global disparities in cardiac surgery and cardiovascular care.