October 24, 2022 – The winner of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2022 Pediatric Cardiology Research Fellowship Award, funded by The Children’s Heart Foundation (CHF), has been announced.
Kari Phillips, MD, of University of Utah Health, received this year's award, which is made possible by a $35,000 educational grant from The Children’s Heart Foundation, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to funding congenital heart defect (CHD) research. The award provides research support for an individual who has demonstrated aptitude for basic science or clinical science research during their pediatric cardiology fellowship.
Dr. Philips' research is titled, "Exploring Patient and Family Decision Making in Pediatric Heart Transplant". Parents and guardians of children with severe heart failure often face a series of life changing decisions including the decision to proceed with heart transplant and employ intensive therapies such as dialysis and ventricular assist device while waiting for a transplant. This research aims to understand what is important to families as they make these decisions.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to pursue decision making research in the field of pediatric heart transplant through the support of the American Academy of Pediatrics and The Children's Heart Foundation," Phillips said. "With this work, we hope to better understand the information and values that are important in decision-making for parents of children with severe heart failure. This will allow us to improve communication and educational tools to ease the decision-making process in these complex, emotional, and life-changing situations."
Congenital heart defects are America’s most common birth defect, occurring in 1 out of every 110 births. CHF and AAP have joined together to promote understanding of cardiovascular disease in children through this award, which represents a tremendous opportunity for junior faculty in pediatric cardiology to gain research experience.
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About The Children’s Heart Foundation
The Children’s Heart Foundation (CHF) is the country’s leading organization solely dedicated to funding congenital heart defect (CHD) research. The mission of CHF is to advance the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of CHDs by funding the most promising research. Since 1996, CHF has funded $15 million of CHD research and scientific collaborations.
About the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org and follow us on Twitter @AmerAcadPeds.
