Researchers receive $2.1 million NIH grant to study causes of congenital heart defects
Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect, affecting nearly 1% of births in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Doctors have been unable to lower that number due to a lack of knowledge about their source. Thanks to a $2.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, an interdisciplinary team of researchers will work to advance the understanding of causes of birth defects.
The team includes principal investigator (PI) Lisa Manning, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics and founding director of the BioInspired Institute at Syracuse University; co-PI Jeff Amack, Upstate Medical University; co-investigator Heidi Hehnly, assistant professor of biology; and Paula Sanematsu, postdoctoral research associate, physics. Manning, Amack and Hehnly are all members of the BioInspired Institute, an interdisciplinary team of faculty