Research Publications
Our primary focus at The Baird Institute is to encourage and fund research to improve the surgical outcomes and quality of life for patients facing heart or lung surgery. The funds we raise go directly to research that improves the surgical procedures associated with heart and lung surgery. Improvements can include less intrusive procedures as well as techniques that improve survival rates.
Below you will find a list of publications that our surgeons and research fellows have been involved in writing.
The Human Cardiac “Age-OME”: Age-Specific Changes in Myocardial Molecular Expression
Ageing is one of the most significant risk factors for heart disease; however, it is still not clear how the human heart changes with age. Taking advantage of a unique set of pre-mortem, cryopreserved, non-diseased human hearts, we performed omics analyses (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics), coupled with biologically informed computational modelling in younger (≤…
Endo-Aortic Balloon Occlusion versus Transthoracic Clamping in Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery.
Objectives: The present study compared the clinical outcome between endo-aortic balloon occlusion (EABO) and transthoracic clamping (TTC) in patients undergoing minimally invasive mitral valve surgery (MIMVS). Methods: All patients from the Mini-Mitral International Registry undergoing MIMVS were primarily considered for study inclusion. One-to-one nearest neighbour propensity score matching considering clinically relevant baseline covariates. The matched cohort was…
Transcriptional, proteomic and metabolic drivers of cardiac regeneration
Following injury, many organs are capable of rapid regeneration of necrotic tissue to regain normal function. In contrast, the damaged heart typically replaces tissue with a collagen-rich scar, due to the limited regenerative capacity of its functional contractile cardiomyocytes (CMs). However, this regenerative capacity varies dramatically during development and between species. Furthermore, studies have shown…
Left ventricular myocardial molecular profile of human diabetic ischaemic cardiomyopathy
Ischaemic cardiomyopathy is the most common cause of heart failure and often coexists with diabetes mellitus, which worsens patient symptom burden and outcomes. Yet, their combined effects are seldom investigated and are poorly understood. To uncover the influencing molecular signature defining ischaemic cardiomyopathy with diabetes, we performed multi-omic analyses of ischaemic and non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy with…
Sheep femoral artery occlusion is well tolerated and does not result in ischemia
Objective: Sheep are commonly used as large animal pre-clinical models for investigating cardiovascular therapies, interventions, anatomy and physiology. Further, novel small diameter vascular grafts are frequently tested via implantation into sheep carotid arteries (CAs). This is because, unlike humans, acute occlusion of one or both sheep CAs is not associated with morbidity or mortality and thus…
Second crossclamp in less invasive mitral valve repair for degenerative mitral regurgitation: predictors and outcomes
Objective: To evaluate the incidence, echocardiographic patterns, operative strategies and results of patients receiving second cross clamp in the large population of the Mini-Mitral-International-Registry. Methods: We examined 4577 patients with degenerative mitral regurgitation (MR) who underwent less invasive mitral repair. Patients with non-degenerative disease, planned valve replacement, and surgery without cross-clamping were excluded. Multivariable logistic regression model…
Surgical decision-making for concomitant tricuspid valve repair in minimally invasive mitral valve surgery
Objectives: To identify factors influencing the decision to omit tricuspid valve repair in patients who meet guideline criteria for tricuspid valve repair undergoing minimally invasive mitral valve surgery (MIMVS). Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using the MIMVS International Registry, covering 7513 patients from 17 centres in Europe USA, Asia and Australia. Of these, 1077 had an…
Mechanical unloading is accompanied by reverse metabolic remodelling in the failing heart: Identification of a novel citraconate-mediated pathway.
Aims: Although functional recovery of the failing heart with left ventricular assist device (LVAD) unloading can occur, the underpinning mechanism is unclear. We aimed to characterize the effect of myocardial biochemical effect of LVAD support in vivo and in vitro. Methods and results: We performed targeted metabolomics and lipidomics on transcardiac (arterial and coronary sinus) blood samples…
