Allen Everett, M.D., and his colleagues are identifying new biomarkers — measurable, physical s...igns — to help in identifying pediatric heart disease. Everett is the program leader at Johns Hopkins in pediatric biomarker discovery, initially in sickle cell disease and subsequently in other pediatric clinical conditions (birth injury, congenital heart disease repair, ECMO, prematurity and pulmonary hypertension). view more

The Post Lab is involved in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a collaborative s...tudy of the characteristics of subclinical cardiovascular disease (that is, disease detected non-invasively before it has produced clinical signs and symptoms) and the risk factors that predict progression to clinically overt cardiovascular disease or progression of the subclinical disease.

As MESA researchers, we study a diverse, population-based sample of 6,814 asymptomatic men and women aged 45-84. Approximately 38 percent of the recruited participants are white, 28 percent African-American, 22 percent Hispanic, and 12 percent Asian, predominantly of Chinese descent.

Participants were recruited from six field centers across the United States, including Johns Hopkins University. Each participant received an extensive physical exam to determine a number of conditions, including coronary calcification, ventricular mass and function, flow-mediated endothelial vasodilation, standard coronary risk factors, sociodemographic factors, lifestyle factors, and psychosocial factors.

Selected repetition of subclinical disease measures and risk factors at follow-up visits have allowed study of the progression of disease. Participants are being followed for identification and characterization of cardiovascular disease events, including acute myocardial infarction and other forms of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and congestive heart failure; for cardiovascular disease interventions; and for mortality.

Wendy S. Post, MD, MS, is an associate faculty, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University, and a professor of medicine. view more

Reid Thompson’s research interests include evaluation of ventricular function in patients with ...muscular dystrophy and Barth syndrome, and in patients who have completed chemotherapy. He also studies novel methods of teaching and diagnosing heart disease through cardiac auscultation. view more

Shelby Kutty, M.D., Ph.D., is an authority on cardiovascular imaging, including echocardiograph...y, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography of congenital heart disease. His areas of academic interest have focused on myocardial function assessment, therapeutic ultrasound and cardiovascular outcomes. Kutty’s research includes developing new imaging technology applications such as a smartphone application that uses patients’ echocardiographic images to track their progress. His work gives pediatric cardiologists better ways to predict outcomes in their patients and provide the most effective and appropriate treatments. view more