
Reza Ardehali, M.D., Ph.D.
Bio
Reza Ardehali, M.D., Ph.D. is a clinician-scientist who treats patients with advanced heart disease and studies the molecular processes involved in heart development and disease. His goal is to use stem cells to create heart cells that can be transplanted into the heart through a minimally invasive procedure, which could regenerate the heart by replacing scar tissue and restoring heart function.
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States and the western world; the survival rate of patients with heart failure is 50 percent five years after diagnosis. Heart transplantation is an effective treatment for patients with advanced heart failure, but due to serious complications and shortage of donors, this is a limited option. Ardehali aims to reduce or eliminate the need for heart transplant by developing methods to regenerate the heart using heart cells derived from human pluripotent stem cells.
In order to accomplish his goals, Ardehali’s lab is studying the extent of heart muscle cell division during pre-natal and post-natal development; how cardiac progenitor cells residing in the heart respond to injury such as a heart attack; and the mechanisms behind cardiac fibrosis, the process of scar formation in the heart. His lab discovered several cell surface markers that signify a stem cell is able to generate the cells that make up heart muscle and vessels. This discovery marks a significant step forward in the quest to use stem cells to create transplantable cells for heart regeneration.
Ardehali earned his doctorate in bioengineering from the University of Utah followed by his medical degree at Emory University School of Medicine. He then completed his residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins University and clinical training in cardiology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Publications
- Mapping human haematopoietic stem cells from haemogenic endothelium to birthPublished in Nature on Wednesday, April 13, 2022
- Genetic Regulation of Fibroblast Activation and Proliferation in Cardiac FibrosisPublished in Circulation on Tuesday, July 24, 2018
- Analysis of cardiomyocyte clonal expansion during mouse heart development and injuryPublished in Nature Communications on Wednesday, February 21, 2018
- Biomarkers of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac lineagesPublished in Trends in Molecular Medicine on Friday, July 7, 2017
- Generation of Nkx2-5/CreER transgenic mice for inducible Cre expression in developing heartsPublished in Genesis on Thursday, June 15, 2017
- Giant cell myocarditis masquerading as orbital myositis with a rapid, fulminant course necessitating mechanical support and heart transplantationPublished in ESC Heart Failure on Wednesday, March 8, 2017
- Human Embryonic Stem Cells Do Not Change Their X Inactivation Status during DifferentiationPublished in Cell Reports on Thursday, December 15, 2016
- Cardiac Light-Sheet Fluorescent Microscopy for Multi-Scale and Rapid Imaging of Architecture and FunctionPublished in Scientific Reports on Thursday, March 3, 2016
- CD13 and ROR2 Permit Isolation of Highly Enriched Cardiac Mesoderm from Differentiating Human Embryonic Stem CellsPublished in Stem Cell Reports on Tuesday, January 12, 2016
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Iron Oxide-Labeled Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Cardiac ProgenitorsPublished in Stem Cells Translational Medicine on Wednesday, November 18, 2015
- Translational aspects of cardiac cell therapyPublished in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine on Saturday, June 27, 2015
- Arrhythmia in Stem Cell TransplantationPublished in Cardiac Electrophysiology Clinics on Monday, June 1, 2015
- COCATS 4 Task Force 12: Training in Heart FailurePublished in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on Sunday, May 17, 2015
- Insights Into Aortic Sclerosis and Its Relationship With Coronary Artery DiseasePublished in Journal of the American Heart Association on Friday, September 5, 2014
- Developmental Heterogeneity of Cardiac Fibroblasts Does Not Predict Pathological Proliferation and ActivationPublished in Journal of the American Heart Association on Friday, July 18, 2014
- Existing cardiomyocytes generate cardiomyocytes at a low rate after birth in micePublished in Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences on Tuesday, June 17, 2014
- Existing cardiomyocytes generate cardiomyocytes at a low rate after birth in micePublished in PNAS on Sunday, May 4, 2014
- SIRPA, VCAM1 and CD34 identify discrete lineages during early human cardiovascular developmentPublished in Stem Cell Research on Sunday, May 4, 2014
- c-Met-dependent multipotent labyrinth trophoblast progenitors establish placental exchange interfacPublished in Developmental Cell on Monday, November 25, 2013
- Parabiosis in Mice: A Detailed ProtocolPublished in JoVE on Sunday, October 6, 2013
- Prospective isolation of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiovascular progenitors that integrate into human fetal heart tissuePublished in PNAS on Monday, January 7, 2013
- Endogenous Wnt signalling in human embryonic stem cells generates an equilibrium of distinct lineage-specified progenitorsPublished in Nature Communications on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
- Isolation of primitive endoderm, mesoderm, vascular endothelial and trophoblast progenitors from human pluripotent stem cellsPublished in Nature Biotechnology on Sunday, May 27, 2012
- The Effect of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Statins on the Progression of Aortic Sclerosis and MortalityPublished in Journal of Heart Valve Disease on Thursday, May 3, 2012
Honors & Affiliations
Honors
- Douglas P. Zipes Distinguished Young Scientist Award, American College of Cardiology, 2015
- Jeremiah Stamler Distinguished Young Investigator Research Award, American Heart Association, 2012
Affiliations
- Elected member, American Society for Clinical Investigation, 2019
- American Heart Association
- American College of Cardiology
- International Society for Stem Cell Research
- Heart Failure Society of America
Funding
Ardehali’s research is funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, the National Institutes of Health and the Steinhart-Reed Foundation.