Penn State Hershey Center for Pediatric Cardiovascular Research

Brief History of the Research Center

Since July of 2003, with the full support of Department of Pediatrics at the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, we have been building a new multi-disciplinary team focused on reducing the adverse effects of cardiovascular operations at the Pediatric Cardiac Research Laboratories.   This center combines basic science, engineering, and clinical applications under the unified mission of pediatric cardiovascular research. Our main objective is the development of novel technologies and methodologies aimed at minimizing the adverse effects of cardiovascular operations, mechanical circulatory support systems, and cardiopulmonary bypass procedures in neonates, infants, and children.  Particular attention was focused on reducing the associated morbidities of cerebral, myocardial, pulmonary, and renal injury.

Within the first nine years, our pediatric cardiac research group has generated more than 360 publications (159 articles, 10 conference proceedings and research updates, a book chapter and 198 abstracts), more than 250 national and international presentations and invited lectures, as well as more than $7 million in grants.  Additionally, we have trained dozens of medical students, post-doctoral fellows, and undergraduate and graduate biomedical engineering students.  The Hershey Center for Pediatric Cardiovascular Research website includes an overview of all of our current projects (clinical, basic science, and bioengineering), publications, presentations, as well as national and international collaborators affiliated with our center (1, 2). 

Based on the scientific accomplishments and the productivity of the Pediatric Cardiovascular Research Laboratories, Professor Harold L. Paz, dean and CEO of the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, formally approved the transformation of these multi-disciplinary laboratories into the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Pediatric Cardiovascular Research Center on June 16, 2009.  This new center has more than 20 faculty members from Departments of Pediatrics, Surgery, Bioengineering, Public Health Sciences, Pharmacology, Comparative Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Microbiology & Immunology, and Anesthesiology, as well as several national and international faculty members from China, France, Germany, Korea, Italy, and Turkey.  The faculty members of our center have already trained more than 150 clinicians from 10 centers in the United States and more than 300 clinicians from 44 centers in Turkey for the newly designed Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Neonatal and Pediatric ECLS system in in-vitro and in-vivo (3-5), and dozens of medical and engineering students for pediatric cardiovascular research.

International Conference

While we were building these inter-disciplinary laboratories, we also established an International Conference on Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems & Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion (6).
The first annual meeting was held at the Hotel Hershey, Hershey, PA in May of 2005.  Since then, we have held eight international conferences with more than 2,055 participants from 33 countries in attendance at these events (6).  The Eighth International Conference on Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion was held at the Galatasaray University, Istanbul, Turkey, June 13-16, 2012 (6)

To date, more than 800 presentations (320 invited lectures, 220 slide and 260 poster presentations) and 400 peer-reviewed articles were published based on this unique event. (http://pennstatehershey.org/web/pedscpb/home).  Based on full manuscripts, more than 60 Young Investigator Awards were awarded during the past six years.  As a result of these eight events, almost 400 manuscripts (including in-press articles for the January 2013 issue) have been generated for this underserved research area.  These publications have become the largest resource for the investigators of pediatric mechanical cardiovascular research.  All publications are included in the conference webpage.

Ninth International Conference
The Ninth International Conference was held at the Hershey Lodge, Hershey, PA, USA, May 8-11, 2013.  This event had several special features including animal experiments with newest ECLS systems in the US.  This special new session was held at the animal facilities at the Penn State Hershey College of Medicine. 

International Society

As a result of the international conference and the Research Center, we have built a non-profit, tax exempt 501 (c) (3) public charity called International Society for Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support which was officially recognized by the Internal Revenue service on January 6, 2010 (7).

These three major entities, International Conference, Research Center, and International Society have an identical mission and share three major objectives.   The mission is to focus on the current problems associated with pediatric cardiac patients during and after acute or chronic cardiac support.  The International Conference, Research Center, and International Society will bring together as many distinguished clinicians, bioengineers, and basic scientists as possible to precisely define current problems and suggest novel approaches and solutions.

 

 

Major objectives are to:

1. Establish International Conference, Research Center, and International Society as the leading forum for further development of novel treatments and devices for cardiovascular health in pediatric populations at the pediatric heart centers around the world.
2. Provide a high-quality, rigorous education for bioengineers, medical students, residents, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty members in pediatric cardiovascular research.
3. Maintain our pediatric international conference International Conference for Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems & Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion as the leading conference for defining the problems and needs of current mechanical circulatory support systems in pediatric patients and suggesting appropriate solutions for underserved pediatric cardiac patients around the globe.

Summary

During the past nine years, we have established a multi-disciplinary International research center, an International Conference and International Society for pediatric cardiovascular research (see Figure).

Our center will vigorously continue for evaluation of CPB and ECLS components, share clinical protocols with other centers around the globe, and train clinicians for new cutting-edge CPB and ECLS circuits in coming years (3-5, 8).
Annual international conference will continue to be a forum for discussion the latest outcomes of pediatric cardiac patients and generate more peer review publications after the each conference every year.
The International Society will also facilitate the interaction among clinicians, scientists, engineers, perfusionists, nurses, and students for minimizing adverse effects of mechanical cardiopulmonary support.  In addition, members of our society have a unique ability to objectively monitor and evaluate new mechanical cardiopulmonary devices for underserved pediatric population.

Our motto continues to be:  If the course of just one child’s life is improved as a result of this research center, an international event and our International Society for Pediatric Mechanical Cardiopulmonary Support, we have reached our goal. 

Acknowledgments:  Portions of this letter were extracted from the invited editorial published in 2011 in the Artificial Organs Journal (1)

- Akif Undar, Ph.D.,
Professor of Pediatrics, Surgery, and Bioengineering
Founder & Director, Penn State Hershey Pediatric Cardiovascular Research Center
Founder & President, International Society for Pediatric Mechanical Cardiopulmonary Support