Creating a Bioengineered Heart for Transplant
Official title: Coordinated Heart Stimulation Testbed: A Platform for Contractile Ventricle Engineering
Funded at Texas Heart Institute · NIH-11126622 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to develop a lab-grown heart using human cells to help patients with severe heart failure.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Texas Heart Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | June 1, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $390,945 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL169632-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11126622 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with end-stage heart failure who require a heart transplant could potentially benefit from this future technology.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who do not have heart failure or whose condition does not require a heart transplant would not directly benefit from this specific research.
What this research studies
Heart failure is a major health problem, and there aren't enough donor hearts for everyone who needs a transplant. This project is working to create a functional, lab-grown heart chamber using human stem cells and 3D printing techniques. Researchers are developing special systems to help these lab-grown heart cells mature properly, so they can eventually form a working heart. The ultimate goal is to engineer a transplantable heart from human cells to address the shortage of donor organs.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could provide a new source of transplantable hearts, offering hope to patients with end-stage heart failure who currently face long waits for donor organs.
How similar studies have gone: While previous efforts to build functional bioartificial heart chambers have faced challenges, this project proposes a novel integrated platform to overcome these limitations.
Where this research is happening
-
Texas Heart Institute
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hochman-Mendez, Camila — Texas Heart Institute
- Study coordinator: Hochman-Mendez, Camila
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Targeting Inflammation in Hardening of the Arteries
This project aims to find new ways to reduce inflammation in patients with atherosclerosis, a condition that causes heart attacks and strokes.
-
Improving the Maglev Heart Pump for Heart Failure
This project develops a new type of heart pump, called a Maglev LVAD, to help people with severe heart failure live longer and healthier lives.
-
Investigating heart failure in patients with congenital heart disease
This study is looking at Single Ventricle Disease, a serious heart condition, to find out what causes heart failure in people with this disease, and it hopes to create better treatments to help improve heart health for those affected, including patients who may share their samples or information to support the research
-
Investigating how the immune system affects heart cell regeneration after injury
This study is looking at how the immune system helps heart cells heal after damage from heart disease, with the goal of finding new ways to help people recover from heart failure after a heart attack.
-
Creating a fully implantable heart pump for young children with heart failure
This study is working on a new, smaller heart pump called NeoVAD that can be safely implanted in babies and young kids with heart failure, making it easier for them to wait for a heart transplant without the risks of larger devices.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.