Hesham Sadek, MD, PhD

Dr. Sadek is recognized internationally for his research into the activation of mechanisms involved in the regeneration of damaged heart muscle. His seminal discovery of the newborn mammalian heart’s ability to regenerate has significantly altered the landscape of cardiac biology. Dr. Sadek’s lab was the first to discover the endogenous regenerative capacity of the mammalian heart, and to identify regulators of heart regeneration in both animal models and humans. Specifically, the Sadek Lab identified the role of postnatal increase in oxygenation and mechanical load in loss of the endogenous regenerative capacity of the mammalian heart. 

His current research includes advancing drug discovery to enhance heart regeneration and address rare genetic mutations causing heart failure. His lab recently identified two repurposed FDA-approved drugs that induce adult cardiomyocyte proliferation and heart regeneration in small and large mammals, which is currently being prepared for the first-in-human clinical trial of a pro-regenerative drug for treatment of heart failure.

His work has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 2011, and his clinical expertise in echocardiography and heart muscle function ensures that cutting-edge research translates into superior patient care.

Previously, he was at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where he held the J. Fred Schoellkopf Chair in Cardiology and served as associate director of the Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine and a professor of internal medicine/cardiology with joint appointments in biophysics and molecular biology.