Dr. David Kalfa's research focuses on developing innovative therapies and surgical strategies to improve outcomes for children with congenital heart defects. An internationally recognized pediatric cardiac surgeon and physician-scientist, Kalfa is a professor of pediatrics and surgery at FIU Medicine. He also serves as chief of cardiovascular surgery and co-director of the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Heart Institute, where he performs complex heart surgeries on children.
See research publications and more on FIU Discovery.
Contact Us
For information about our lab or undergraduate research opportunities, please contact us at KLCHR@fiu.edu.
About the Lab
The Kalfa Lab for Congenital Heart Research integrates engineering, biology, and clinical expertise to develop and evaluate next-generation heart valve repair technologies.
Ongoing projects include the design and testing of biodegradable polymeric scaffolds for cardiovascular repair, assessment of surgical procedures and implant performance in small and large animal models, and computational fluid dynamic modeling for optimizing bioreactor function in living tissue storage and conditioning. This multidisciplinary work bridges fundamental bioengineering with clinical application to advance pediatric cardiac surgery and long-term patient outcomes.
Recent News
Groundbreaking Heart SurgeryFIU/Nicklaus Children's Hospital physician-scientist brings groundbreaking heart surgery to Florida
Lab Members
Daniel Chaparro, Ph.D.
Research Specialist II
Ishit Chauhan, M.D.
Postdoctoral Associate
Donate
Interested in supporting our research or scholars?
Please contact:
Naomi Nixon
Associate Dean for Development
Phone: 305-348-9038
Email: nnixon@fiu.edu