Touma Lab

Congenital Heart Defect - BioCore

-- A path to Implement Precision Child Health Cardiovascular Medicine

What is CHD-BioCore?

The BioCore is a bio-banking resources core for “stories from the heart.”

Patients, parents and families have shared their stories, contributed information, donated blood, tissue and samples to support congenital heart defect (CHD) research.

The CHD-BioCore is part of the Cardiovascular Research Theme(Link is external) (Link opens in new window) at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. It will allow us to examine novel genetic variants, therapeutic targets and disease mechanisms directly in human. Ultimately, the BioCore will allow to translate the knowledge acquired at the bench into novel diagnostics, prevention, and therapies for newborn infants with congenital heart defects.

Learn more about the CHD research program at UCLA

Mission

Our mission is to implement a path to precision child health cardiovascular medicine by generating a platform for scientific discovery and clinical translation.

Who we are

We are the neonatologist, the cardiologist, the surgeon, the intensivist, the bedside nurse, the radiologist, the pathologist, the geneticist, the physicist...

We are the physicians and the scientists.

Contributing Faculty

Marlin Touma, MD, PhD
Marlin Touma, MD, PhD
CORE Director, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
Nancy J. Halnon, MD
Nancy J. Halnon, MD
Pediatric Cardiology
Glen S. Van Arsdell, MD
Glen S. Van Arsdell, MD
Cardiac Surgery
Mark S. Sklansky, MD
Mark S. Sklansky, MD
Pediatric Cardiology
Juan C. Alejos, MD
Juan C. Alejos, MD
Pediatric Cardiology
Reshma M. Biniwale, MD, MS, MCHS
Reshma M. Biniwale, MD, MS, MCHS
Cardiac Surgery
Myke D. Federman, MD
Myke D. Federman, MD
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Leigh Reardon, MD
Leigh Reardon, MD
Pediatric Cardiology, Adult Congenital Cardiac Disease
Viviana M. Fajardo Martinez, MD
Viviana M. Fajardo Martinez, MD
Neonatology
Meena Garg, MD
Meena Garg, MD
Neonatology
John P. Finn, MD
John P. Finn, MD
Diagnostic Radiology
Wayne W. Grody, MD, PhD
Wayne W. Grody, MD, PhD
Molecular Genetic Pathology, Anatomic Pathology, Clinical and Laboratory Pathology
Yibin Wang, PhD
Yibin Wang, PhD

We highly acknowledge the strong contribution and efforts of Dr. Brian Reemtsen, former chief of congenital cardiovascular surgery, to the establishment of CHD-BioCore.

Support for CHD-BioCore

We are honored to receive support from the following partners:

  • Children's Discovery Institute (CDI) at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital
  • NIH - Child Health Research Center
  • Today and Tomorrow's Children's Fund, Children's Discovery Institute (CDI)
  • Cardiovascular Theme, Research Innovation Award, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
  • Department of Defense - Biomedical Research Fund
  • American Heart Association
  • NIH/NHLBI

Contact Us

Marlin Touma, MD, PhD
Director, CHD-BioCore
UCLA Cardiovascular Theme(Link is external) (Link opens in new window)

Neonatal/Congenital Heart Laboratory
UCLA-Cardiovascular Research Laboratory
MRL Building
Lab 3447/3457
Office 3762
675 Charles E. Young Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Office: 310-825-6478
mtouma@mednet.ucla.edu