Penn state hershey - Center for pediatric cardiovascular research: Guest editorial

With the creation of the Penn State Hershey-Center for Pediatric Cardiovascular Research, we strive to become one of the leading centers for the innovation and development of novel devices and treatments for congenital heart surgery.We also seek to educate more bioengineers, medical students, residents, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members in pediatric cardiovascular research. Finally, we seek to continue the growth of our conference (The International Conference on Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems & Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion-http://www.hmc. psu.edu/childrens/ pedscpb/), in order to provide a scientific venue for the pioneering research being performed in pediatric mechanical circulatory support and cardiopulmonary perfusion. Our website (http://www.pennstatehershey.org/web/childrensheartgroup/ research/overview) includes an overview of all of our current projects (clinical, basic science, and bioengineering), publications, presentations, as well as national and international collaborators affiliated with our center. Investigators interested in collaborating with us on current or new projects should send an E-mail to aundar@ psu.edu. Special thanks go to all those who support our collaborative efforts, both intellectually and financially each year. This includes significant financial support from the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital and Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the National Institutes of Health Office of Rare Diseases. Furthermore, we are most grateful to our dedicated students, sponsors, faculty, and national and international collaborators that make the formation of such an establishment possible.