Shabnam Peyvandi
University of California-San Francisco, CA·Medicine & Clinical Research
Transposition of the great arteries (TGA) is a severe heart defect in which the two main arteries leaving the heart are switched. It is a common birth defect.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Neuroscience
Physiology
- Topics
congenital heart disease
transposition of the great arteries
neonatal brain injury
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Feb 2027
What they work on
- Test whether lower brain tissue oxygen before birth leads to immature brain development in fetuses with transposition of the great arteries, using fetal neuroimaging to find a prenatal marker of poor brain maturation.
- Examine how changes in heart and brain blood flow during the transition from fetal to newborn life make immature brains more vulnerable to white matter injury, using newborn neuroimaging and neuromonitoring.
- Test whether delayed cord clamping, which improves oxygen delivery to the brain around birth, reduces newborn white matter injury in babies with transposition of the great arteries.
More about the research
Surgery soon after birth now restores normal blood flow, and more children survive. Yet many still face developmental and learning problems throughout life. Babies with TGA show delayed brain growth that begins before birth, and many develop white matter injury (WMI), damage to the brain's wiring, mostly before their newborn operation. This points to the transition at birth, when circulation shifts from fetal to newborn patterns, as a key period of risk and a window for brain-protecting care.
Why it matters
Children born with transposition of the great arteries often face lifelong developmental challenges even after successful heart surgery. A prenatal marker of poor brain development and a better understanding of risks around birth could help doctors spot vulnerable babies early. It could also inform trials of simple steps, such as delayed cord clamping, that may protect the brain.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Heather Siefkes
University of California-Davis, CA·Medicine & Clinical Research·Early-career
Externally validate a machine learning algorithm that combines pulse oximetry features, including oxygen saturation, perfusion index, and pulse delay, for detecting critical congenital heart disease in hospitalized newborns.
Matthew Harer
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI·Medicine & Clinical Research
Test in a randomized trial whether an extra caffeine dose of 10 or 20 mg/kg raises kidney oxygen levels more than placebo in preterm infants under 30 weeks' gestation with low kidney oxygen measured by near-infrared spectroscopy.
Manideep Chavali
Oregon Health & Science University, OR·Neuroscience
Dissect how oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, the precursors of myelin-forming cells, regulate apelin signaling in the endothelial cells lining brain blood vessels, during normal white matter development and after neonatal hypoxic-ischemic injury, using genetic and pharmacological strategies.
The school
University of California-San Francisco: 89 labs on PI Pages, $2.1B a year on research, 164 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.