The Children’s Heart Foundation — 30 years, 1996–2026
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2026 Mid-Year Research Appeal

Today's Gift.
Tomorrow's Breakthrough.

Help put one more promising congenital heart defect research project on the path to funding.

$300,000 goalGive by September 30

Help Fund the Next BreakthroughSee how research is reviewed
Baby resting on a soft gray blanket with a visible surgical scar

For 30 years, donor support has helped advance research for children born with congenital heart defects.

initial research proposals
155

Submitted by researchers seeking CHF grant funding

full applications
34

Researchers invited to submit complete applications for scientific review

Goal
$300,000

For the 2026 Mid-Year Research Appeal

Giving deadline
September 30

Every gift helps increase this year’s grant resources

Why research matters

Research changes what is possible.

For children born with congenital heart defects, continued research can shape care, treatment, and the future families imagine.

“Worthy research may go unfunded—not because the science is lacking, but because the resources are.”

In 2026, The Children's Heart Foundation received a record-breaking 155 initial proposals from researchers seeking funding for innovative congenital heart defect research. Every gift received by September 30 helps increase the resources available for this year's research grants.

30 years

funding congenital heart defect research

$21 million

invested in CHD research

This year’s opportunity

A rigorous path from idea to funding.

A record response signals both momentum and need. Each stage narrows the field through independent scientific review; an invitation to submit a full application does not guarantee funding.

  1. 01

    155 initial proposals

    Submitted by researchers seeking CHF grant funding—a 91% increase from 2024 and the largest response in CHF history.

  2. 02

    34 full applications

    Researchers invited to submit complete applications for scientific review.

  3. 03

    Independent review

    The Medical Advisory Council evaluates the scientific merit and potential of each proposal.

  4. 04

    Funding recommendations

    The Council determines its recommendations on November 4, 2026.

Thirty-four researchers were invited to submit full applications for review. Your gift by September 30 can help increase the resources available for this year's research grants.

Help Fund the Next Breakthrough
Read transcript

The idea of funding research can sound abstract until you see what it means for a child and family. Survival, safer care, better treatments, and more hope for the future. This year, The Children’s Heart Foundation received 155 initial research proposals, a 91 percent increase from 2024, and the largest response in our history. November 4th, experts in the field will help us determine which of those projects show the greatest potential to save, improve, and extend lives. The momentum in this field provides us with tremendous hope, but every year, worthy research goes unfunded. Not because the science is lacking, but because the financial resources are. For 30 years, The Children’s Heart Foundation has helped promising ideas move forward. Your gift by September 30th can help put one more promising project on the path to funding and bring the next breakthrough closer to the children who need it. Thank you for believing in what research makes possible.

Message from Terry

Help us fund what comes next.

A message about this year’s unprecedented research opportunity—and why donor support matters now.

“This year, more research proposals came to CHF than ever before. Your gift by September 30 can help move one more promising project toward funding.”

Terry Morrow

President & CEO

A family’s hope

“When Meadow was born, we were told she would likely need at least five or six open-heart surgeries in her lifetime. Only a few years later, medical advances already give us hope that the number could be less. That is the impact of research.”

Sarah Boes

Heart Mom

Sarah Boes laughing while holding her daughter Meadow

Research changes what families can hope for

Your gift can help move one more promising project toward funding.

Give by September 30 to support this year's research grants.

Help Fund the Next Breakthrough

Impact of research

The work behind tomorrow’s breakthroughs.

Learn how CHF-funded research is advancing possibilities for children and families.

A living vascular graft designed to grow with a child

Funded 2014–2015

Christopher Kane Breuer, MD · The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital · Columbus, Ohio

The problem
Synthetic vascular grafts are widely used in congenital heart reconstruction, but complications can limit care. Tissue-engineered grafts offered growth potential, yet some narrowed over time.
What advanced
Researchers created a graft by placing a child’s own cells on a biodegradable tube so a blood vessel could grow as the tube dissolved. The CHF-supported proposal was designed to test whether losartan could prevent narrowing in an animal model.
What it could mean
If narrowing can be safely prevented, a living graft with growth potential could become an improved option for children undergoing congenital heart surgery.

Earlier warning for infants at risk of cardiac arrest

Funded in 2016

Carl Rusin, BSE, PhD · Baylor University · Houston, Texas

The problem
For infants with single-ventricle physiology, care teams lacked an accurate way to detect an acute cardio-respiratory arrest before it became a crisis.
What advanced
A collaborative CHF and American Heart Association award supported validation of an algorithm designed to assess the chance of an arrest in the next one to two hours.
What it could mean
A reliable earlier warning could give care teams time to respond proactively. The study focused on determining whether the system could provide that warning.

Helping catheterization programs learn and improve together

Funded 2017–2018

Lisa Bergersen, MD, MPH · Boston Children’s Hospital · Boston, Massachusetts

The problem
Programs needed consistent definitions, fair risk adjustment, and credible benchmarks to compare pediatric cardiac catheterization outcomes.
What advanced
CHF supported early outcome methods and later helped launch C3PO-QI. Its CHARM model established baseline adverse-event rates, while 2017–2018 work proposed updated tools for radiation exposure, adverse events, and patient flow.
What it could mean
These shared methods were designed to help programs compare performance, learn together, and make informed improvements in catheterization care for children.
Explore More CHF-Funded Research

Medical Advisory Council

Independent expertise guides every recommendation.

Leading physicians, surgeons, and researchers independently evaluate proposals. Their review helps direct donor support toward scientifically rigorous work and gives donors confidence in the Foundation’s research investment process.

Nancy Ghanayem, MD, MS

Council chair

Nancy Ghanayem, MD, MS

Chair, Medical Advisory Council

University of Chicago · Comer Children’s Hospital · Advocate Children’s Hospital
Chicago, Illinois

Dr. Ghanayem leads the independent expert review that guides CHF’s research funding recommendations.

Meet the Medical Advisory Council

Select a member to read their CHF-approved profile without leaving the Mid-Year Research Appeal.

Why give through CHF

Focused on research. Grounded in review.

The Children’s Heart Foundation brings three decades of focus to congenital heart defect research and a disciplined process for evaluating funding opportunities.

  • One mission for 30 years: advancing congenital heart defect research
  • $21 million invested in promising CHD science
  • Independent review by leading physicians, surgeons, and researchers
  • Research funding that reaches institutions and families nationwide
  • A disciplined process that identifies the strongest opportunities
  • Responsible stewardship of every donor investment

Sustain the progress

Support research beyond this appeal.

The September 30 giving deadline is the immediate priority. Monthly support offers another meaningful way to help sustain congenital heart defect research beyond a single appeal.

Make a Monthly Gift

Fund one more breakthrough

Every breakthrough begins with research.

Help put one more promising project on the path to funding. Every gift received by September 30 helps increase the resources available for this year's research grants.

Help Fund the Next Breakthrough

Giving deadline: September 30, 2026

September 30Fund one more breakthrough

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