Non-invasive heart MRI for transplant patients
Official title: Comprehensive Cardiac Structure-Function Analysis in Heart Transplantation
Funded at Northwestern University · NIH-11082986 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work uses advanced cardiac MRI scans to find early, noninvasive signs of rejection and blood-vessel disease in people who have had a heart transplant.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | February 4, 2014 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $650,296 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL117888-10 |
| Project ID | NIH-11082986 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People who have received a heart transplant, including children and adults, especially those undergoing routine surveillance or with symptoms suggesting rejection or allograft vasculopathy.
✕Less likely to help
People who cannot undergo MRI (for example, due to incompatible implanted devices or severe claustrophobia) or those without a heart transplant would not benefit from this work.
What this research studies
You would have detailed, non-invasive cardiac MRI scans that measure tissue inflammation (T2), scarring (extracellular volume fraction), and how your heart pumps. The team tracks these MRI markers over time and links them to clinical events, donor-recipient differences, and other test results. Their database already includes over 450 comprehensive cardiac MRI exams from transplant recipients. The goal is to use imaging to spot acute rejection and allograft vasculopathy earlier and reduce the need for biopsies and catheter angiography.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could reduce invasive biopsies and catheter angiograms and help catch rejection or vessel disease earlier.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work from this team and others has shown that MRI markers like T2 and ECV relate to rejection and later events, but larger and longer-term validation is ongoing.
Where this research is happening
-
Northwestern University
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Markl, Michael — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Markl, Michael
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Targeted immune treatments to protect donated hearts
This project develops ways to send immune-suppressing medicines directly to the lymph nodes and the transplanted heart to help people with heart transplants avoid rejection while reducing side effects.
-
IL-33 helps protect heart transplant patients from long-term rejection
This grant studies how a natural molecule called IL-33 may shield heart transplant patients from ongoing immune damage and chronic rejection.
-
Targeted mRNA delivery to improve heart transplants from donation after circulatory death
This grant tests a new mRNA delivery approach to help donor hearts from donors after circulatory death survive and function better after transplant.
-
Belatacept to reduce rejection and protect kidneys after a heart transplant
This trial will compare continuing tacrolimus to gradually switching to belatacept over nine months in people receiving a first-time heart transplant to lower rejection, prevent donor-specific antibodies, and protect kidney function.
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Partial heart transplant to give growing heart valves to children
This work tries transplanting only the donor heart part that contains a valve so children can get a valve that grows with them.
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Predicting Heart Transplant Rejection Risk Before Surgery
This research aims to find ways to predict which heart transplant patients might reject their new heart, helping doctors tailor their medication plans.
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.