Natalia A. Trayanova, Ph.D.

Johns Hopkins researchers recently received a $195,000 Rapid Response Research grant from the National Science Foundation to, using machine learning, identify which COVID-19 patients are at risk of adverse cardiac events such as heart failure, sustained abnormal heartbeats, heart attacks, cardiogenic shock and death.

Increasing evidence of COVID-19’s negative impacts on the cardiovascular system highlights a great need for identifying COVID-19 patients at risk for heart problems, the researchers say. However, no such predictive capabilities currently exist.

“This project will provide clinicians with early warning signs and ensure that resources are allocated to patients with the greatest need,” says Natalia Trayanova, the Murray B. Sachs Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University Schools of Engineering and Medicine and the project’s principal investigator… Continue reading.

Natalia Trayanova, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, will be inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame in a ceremony today in San Jose, California.

The WITI Hall of Fame was established in 1996 to recognize, honor, and promote the outstanding contributions women make to the scientific and technological communities that improve society. Each year, five women are selected from around the world to receive this honor, and Trayanova now joins the ranks of other scientists, engineers, and CEOs who have made an impact on society through their exceptional contributions to advancing their fields of inquiry… Continue reading.

In a proof-of-concept study, scientists at Johns Hopkins report they have successfully performed 3D personalized virtual simulations of the heart to accurately identify where cardiac specialists should electrically destroy cardiac tissue to stop potentially fatal irregular and rapid heartbeats in patients with scarring in the heart. The retrospective analysis of 21 patients and prospective study of 5 patients with ventricular tachycardia, the researchers say, demonstrate that 3D simulation-guided procedures are worthy of expanded clinical trials.

Results of the study are described in the Sept. 3 issue of Nature Biomedical Engineering.

“Cardiac ablation, or the destruction of tissue to stop errant electrical impulses, has been somewhat successful but hampered by a lot of guesswork and variability in the way that physicians figure out which locations to zap with a catheter,” says Natalia Trayanova, PhD, the Murray B. Sachs Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University Schools of Engineering and Medicine. “Our new study results suggest we can remove a lot of the guesswork, standardize treatment, and decrease the variability in outcomes, so that patients remain free of arrhythmia in the long-term,” she adds… Continue reading.

When electrical waves in the heart run amok, the results can be deadly. Current treatment for the condition, called arrhythmia, includes implanting a small defibrillator which senses the onset of arrhythmia and jolts the heart back to a normal rhythm. But a thorny question remains: How should doctors decide which patients truly need an invasive, costly electrical implant that is not without health risks of its own?

To address this question, an interdisciplinary Johns Hopkins University team has developed a non-invasive, 3-D virtual heart assessment tool to help doctors determine whether a particular patient faces the highest risk of a life-threatening arrhythmia and would benefit most from a defibrillator implant. In a proof-of-concept study published today in the online journal Nature Communications, the team reported that its new digital approach yielded more accurate predictions than the imprecise blood pumping measurement now used by most physicians.

"Our virtual heart test significantly outperformed several existing clinical metrics in predicting future arrhythmic events," says Natalia Trayanova, professor of biomedical engineering. "This non-invasive and personalized virtual heart-risk assessment could help prevent sudden cardiac deaths and allow patients who are not at risk to avoid unnecessary defibrillator implantations."

Natalia Trayanova, a Johns Hopkins professor of biomedical engineering, leads a team that creates complex simulations of the heart, using everything from MRIs to the latest information on heart-specific proteins. Her team currently uses computing centers at Johns Hopkins’ Homewood campus and often must wait for enough processors to become available. If Trayanova’s team needs 10, and only nine are available, they have to wait. Now, with thousands of processors in a central location, idle computers can be used by any researchers who need them. Members of Trayanova’s team are already participating in beta-testing of the new computing center’s equipment.

Even before it officially opens, 80 percent of MARCC’s computing power is already allocated. But with enough land for four more identical centers on the lot at Bayview, there’s plenty of room to grow if the demand and funding materialize, MARCC administrators say.