Title
Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Education
BS – St. Ambrose University; 1987
PhD – University of Iowa; 1994
MD – University of Iowa; 1994

Postgraduate Training
Residency – University of Iowa
Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship – University of Iowa

Clinical Interests
Transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, myocardial dysfunction, cardiomyopathy, management of heart failure, inflammatory vascular diseases, patient safety & quality improvement

Research Interests
Dr. Edens is a pediatric transplant cardiologist that also conducts transplant-related clinical research at University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. His two major research interests are determination of biomarker profiles of immune function in transplant patients and developing strategies to improve management of heart failure caused by myocardial dysfunction. Both studies are clinical/ translational research studies. In his studies of immune biomarkers, he is examining the unique biomarker profiles present in the blood of transplant patients when they experience a variety of immune-mediated complications such as transplant rejection, coronary vasculopathy, infection and lymphoproliferative disorder. The goal of this research is to develop blood tests that may facilitate more rapid detection of these various disease states before tissue damage or serious illness occurs. Likewise, this type of immune function profiling may help distinguish types of infection (viral vs. bacteria vs. fungal) at earlier stages. In the second research focus, Dr. Edens is examining the various strategies for managing myocardial dysfunction in pediatric patients. There are a number of mechanisms by which heart muscle fails in children including dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, neuromuscular cardiomyopathy (such as Duchene's patients), myocarditis and post-chemotherapy induced cardiomyopathy (such as Adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy). Dr. Edens is studying the varied responses of heart failure treatments in these patients whose diseases have different underlying mechanisms. The hypothesis of this work is that heart failure treatments need to be tailored to meet each specific patient's needs. The goal of this work is to improve the management of pediatric heart failure thereby preserving heart function and improving the quality of life of these special patients.

Affiliations:

• Division of Cardiology
• International Society of Heart Lung Transplant
• American Society of Transplantation
• International Pediatric Transplant Association
• Heart Failure Society of America
• International Society of Pediatric Heart Failure
• American Heart Association
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• International Complement Society

Recent Publications

Back to the Department of Pediatrics

Division of Cardiology

Recent Publications

Contact Information:
Office: 319-356-3977
E-mail: erik-edens@uiowa.edu