Meet Our New Medical Director and Faculty Members

The Heart Institute continues to bolster its world-class team of faculty and staff. We are pleased to announce our new medical director and introduce you to five faculty members who have recently joined our team.

Cooper Serves As Newest Heart Institute Medical Director

David S. Cooper, MD, MPH, has taken on many roles at Cincinnati Children’s, most recently that of medical director of the Heart Institute.

“This new role gives me the opportunity to work with my colleagues, patients and families on projects and initiatives that span the entire depth and breadth of the Heart Institute,” says Cooper, who stepped into the new role in August of 2021. “I’m looking forward to building new and innovative programs that have meaningful impact on patient and family experience and outcomes.”

This latest position adds to Cooper’s existing leadership roles as medical director of both the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and the Cardiac Anesthesia Recovery Unit. He has been with Cincinnati Children’s since 2011.

Cooper attended University of South Florida College of Medicine where he earned his medical degree and then his Master of Public Health degree. He completed his residency at All Children’s Hospital in Florida. At Cincinnati Children’s, he completed a fellowship in cardiology, followed by a fellowship in critical care at Children’s Medical Center Dallas.

Cooper’s career has focused on the care of critically ill neonates, infants, children and adults with complex congenital heart disease, with a particular interest in how care delivery in the intensive care unit can impact morbidity. His research is focused on extracorporeal support, acute/chronic kidney injury and patient outcomes. He has contributed to more than 120 peer-reviewed publications and has authored multiple book chapters. Additionally, Cooper has had extensive involvement with the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium (PC4), including the development of the PC4 CICU database that is used to track and improve outcomes for patients with critical cardiac disease in North America.

HEART INSTITUTE: What do you hope to achieve in this new role?

COOPER: This is a growth opportunity for me to help continue my development as a leader. I get to work with great people and to work on innovative endeavors that can positively affect our patients and families, as well as our staff. Our focus is first on patients and families, but I also want to create programs to help support my colleagues as we deal with complex patients in a complex environment. Finding ways to support the team as we embark on these endeavors is vital to our growth and success. Overall my goal is to help the Heart Institute continue to provide high-quality care to children locally, regionally and nationally.

Welcome to Our New Faculty Members

Paul Critser, MD, PhD, has joined Cincinnati Children’s as our newest pulmonary hypertension specialist. He provides care for patients through our Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic, as well as through our acute care cardiology service and outpatient cardiology clinics. His research is focused on non-invasive assessment of pediatric pulmonary hypertension for patients with heritable, congenital heart disease, and development lung disorder associated pulmonary hypertension. In the field of pulmonary hypertension, Critser points out that cardiac catheterization is currently needed to diagnose and monitor the condition. His hope for the future is to be able to use echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging to obtain the information needed to care for patients without cardiac catheterization.

Critser received his medical degree from Indiana University and his PhD from Purdue University. He completed his residency in pediatrics through the Boston Combined Residency Program. He then completed two fellowships, one in pediatric cardiology at Cincinnati Children’s, and one in pediatric pulmonary hypertension with Boston Children's Hospital.

HEART INSTITUTE: What drew you to Cincinnati Children’s?

CRITSER: Cincinnati Children’s has the clinical and research expertise to not only help treat kids today but also to improve treatment for the children of the future. As a clinician-scientist, I was drawn to Cincinnati Children’s to work with these experts in the Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic, in the Heart Institute, and throughout the hospital to advance the care of children with pulmonary hypertension.

Katja M. Gist, DO, MSc: Co-director of the Center for Acute Care Nephrology

Originally from South Africa, Katja M. Gist, DO, MSc, joins the Heart Institute as a pediatric cardiologist and intensivist where she spends her clinical time in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. She is also one of the co-directors of the Center for Acute Care Nephrology (CACN). Under the leadership of CACN director Stuart Goldstein, MD, Gist is tasked with education, quality improvement and research in critical care nephrology within the Heart Institute. Her research interests are in critical care nephrology, mostly around kidney injury and fluid overload in critical cardiac disease. She also studies short- and long-term outcomes of acute kidney injury in children.

Gist earned her medical degree from University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Maine and obtained her Master of Science in Clinical Investigation from University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She completed a residency in pediatrics at Akron Children’s Hospital, followed by a fellowship in pediatric cardiology at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and a fellowship in pediatric critical care at Cincinnati Children’s. She joins us from the University of Colorado where she was on faculty for the past seven years.

HEART INSTITUTE: What do you most look forward to in your career here?

GIST: I completed my critical care fellowship here so it’s a place I know well. The collaborative nature of the entire hospital is exciting. I look forward to developing collaborations nationally and internationally, and I look forward to success in research.

Tanya Perry, DO: Pediatric Cardiology Intensivist

Tanya Perry, DO, recently completed a fellowship in pediatric cardiology here at Cincinnati Children’s, and now continues her work as a cardiac intensivist in our Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. She is also part of the ventricular assist device team. Her research interests are in mechanical circulatory support, both ECMO and ventricular assist devices in children and young adults, as well as anticoagulation use on these devices.

Perry attended Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Florida where she earned her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her residency in pediatrics at Winthrop University Hospital in New York. Following that she completed a fellowship in pediatric critical care at Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York Northwell Health, before coming to Cincinnati Children’s for her pediatric cardiology fellowship.

HEART INSTITUTE: What drew you to Cincinnati Children’s?

PERRY: I was drawn to Cincinnati Children’s for cardiology fellowship for the immense learning opportunities, given the diverse physiology of the patients we care for, and at a world-renowned cardiac center. I was drawn to stay here as an attending after my experience with the phenomenal mentorship I have had throughout my training. I have many goals I want to accomplish in my early career both clinically and academically, with a particular interest in mechanical circulatory support, and I can’t think of a place I would be better supported to do so.

Kristin Schneider, MD: Pediatric Cardiac Imaging Specialist

Kristin Schneider, MD, is a member of both our outpatient and imaging teams, focusing specifically on the communities in the northern Cincinnati area from an outpatient perspective. On the imaging side, she reads transthoracic and transesophageal echoes, and also works with our Fetal Heart Program. She conducts research in fetal and transthoracic echocardiography, and collaborates on work with social determinants of health and how those impact patient outcomes. She’s eager to be a part of continuing to expand the care and access we offer patients, so children with simple and complex cardiac conditions can be cared for as close to home as possible.

Schneider received her medical degree from University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio’s School of Medicine. She then made her way to Cincinnati Children’s where she completed her residency, followed by a clinical cardiology fellowship and an advanced cardiac imaging fellowship.

HEART INSTITUTE: What drew you to Cincinnati Children’s?

SCHNEIDER: I came to Cincinnati Children’s for residency and was impressed with the breadth and depth of clinical training coupled with the research support. That, in combination with the overall culture of the hospital feeling like a good fit, led me to apply for cardiology fellowship here, where I found the same things that had drawn me to the residency program held true in the Heart Institute. From residency on, it has been a place where I feel uniquely well supported to pursue nearly any clinical or research interest.

Derek Weyhrauch, MD: Preventive Cardiologist for Greater Louisville and Western Kentucky

Derek Weyhrauch, MD, joins the Heart Institute’s Greater Louisville and Western Kentucky clinics to lead the preventive cardiology program. He provides care for children with conditions such as dyslipidemia, hypertension and obesity. In addition to treating general pediatric cardiology patients, he’ll also be doing work in program development and health informatics research. Weyhrauch comes to Cincinnati Children’s after completing an American Heart Association-funded clinical research fellowship focused on exploring the intersection of genomics and congenital heart disease. He’s looking forward to applying the skills this experience gave him toward health informatics research and using a “big data” approach to addressing challenges in preventive cardiology.

Weyhrauch went to the University of Washington School of Medicine for his medical degree. He completed his residency in pediatric and adolescent medicine with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Following that, he did a fellowship in pediatric cardiology with the University of Utah, then joined the faculty there in 2020 as an instructor prior to coming to Cincinnati Children’s.

HEART INSTITUTE: What do you most look forward to in your career here?

WEYHRAUCH: I have been very fortunate in my training and early career to have benefited from phenomenal mentorship and institutional support, and Cincinnati Children’s offers that in spades. I am looking forward to the influence that the team will have on me as I am confident it will allow me to become the best cardiologist I can be, and I am excited for how that can have such a positive impact on patient care here in the Greater Louisville and Western Kentucky region.