Pediatrics
Showing 31-40 of 72 Results
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Martin Pfaller
Instructor, Pediatrics - Cardiology
BioMartin R. Pfaller is an Instructor in the Department of Pediatrics (Cardiology) in the group of Alison L. Marsden. He received his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Munich, working with Wolfgang A. Wall. During his Ph.D., he validated an efficient yet physiologically accurate boundary condition to account for the mechanical support of the heart within its surroundings, which has been adopted by various research groups worldwide. He further demonstrated how projection-based model order reduction could speed up model personalization from patient data, such as magnetic resonance imaging or blood pressure measurements. His current work focuses on cardiovascular fluid dynamics. He developed reduced-physics models to make blood flow simulations faster and more reliable. Further, he developed a fluid-solid-growth interaction model in blood vessels. His future research will predict the heart’s long-term function in heart diseases, supported by an NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) and Stanford MCHRI Instructor K Award Support. He will quantify the risk of heart failure after a heart attack with a stability analysis validated with imaging data in swine and humans. This research will improve our understanding of biomechanical mechanisms leading to heart failure and help to identify patients at risk, enable personalized therapies, and facilitate the optimal design of medical devices. As an Assistant Professor, Martin will start his research group at Yale University in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in July 2024.
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Trung Hoang Minh Pham
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases) and of Microbiology and Immunology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsUncovering mechanisms of tissue immunity and immunophysiology during persistent infection
The immune system safeguards the health of complex organisms by rapidly eliminating invading pathogens, curbing infection-induced tissue disruptions, and maintaining tissue homeostasis. Many bacterial pathogens evade host antimicrobial mechanisms and persist in infected tissues at low levels for long periods of time even in the presence of innate and adaptive immune resistance. During persistent infection, the immune system simultaneously orchestrates antimicrobial responses to contain the pathogen, repairs damaged tissue, regulates nutrient resources, and maintains other tissue physiologic functions to ensure host survival. Failure of any of these tasks leads to uncontrolled infection, devastating disease, and even death. The goals of our research are to understand:
1)What are the innate and adaptive immune cellular mechanisms that contain pathogens during persistent infection?
2)How are tissue physiological functions, such as tissue repair and nutrient regulation, maintained during persistent infection?
3)How do pathogens survive innate and adaptive antimicrobial mechanisms in infected tissues?
4)How does persistent infection impact host immunity to secondary infections of a similar or different pathogen?
Through investigating these fundamental questions, we may be able to decode the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms that can be harnessed to eradicate infections, promote tissue resilience, and restore health after an infectious insult. We employ animal infection models and bring together immunology, tissue biology, microbiology, and genetics to uncover the mechanisms of tissue immunity and immunophysiology during persistent infection from the molecular to organismal level.
Current areas of research:
•Development, maintenance, and plasticity of macrophage functional diversity in infected tissue
•Tissue repair and nutrient regulation during persistent infection
•Cellular dynamics and bacterial persistence in lymphoid organs
We are looking for highly motivated team members who are passionate about making impactful scientific discoveries to join our group at all levels. For opportunities and positions available for pre-doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, please contact tpham8@stanford.edu!
