Meet Our New Faculty
The Heart Institute continues to bolster its world-class team of faculty and staff. We are pleased to introduce you to the newest faculty members who have recently joined our team.
Awais Ashfaq, MD, FACS, FACC: Congenital Cardiothoracic Surgeon
Cardiothoracic surgeon Awais Ashfaq, MD, comes to Cincinnati Children’s as a clinician, surgeon and researcher. Ashfaq has special interest in mechanical circulatory support devices and single ventricle anomalies in patients with congenital heart disease. His research interests include ex-vivo perfusion, partial heart transplantation and aortic valve repair. Most recently, he was an attending physician with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Heart Institute in Florida where he has helped rebuild their cardiac surgery program with James Quintessenza, MD. He looks forward to continuing his translational research work here at Cincinnati Children’s while also caring for patients.
Ashfaq completed his MBBS at Aga Khan University in Pakistan, followed by an internship and residency in general surgery at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. He completed fellowships in cardiothoracic surgery at Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland, and in congenital cardiac surgery at Cincinnati Children's.
HEART INSTITUTE: What drew you to Cincinnati Children’s?
ASHFAQ: I did my congenital fellowship here couple of years ago and had a phenomenal experience. I developed some strong relationships during my time here and witnessed the excellent clinical care provided by the entire team. That combined with the research resources available made the decision easy to come back when the opportunity arose.
Shijie Liu, PhD: Cardiovascular Disease Researcher
Shijie Liu, PhD, joins our Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology as a researcher analyzing cardiovascular disease, molecular biology, cell signaling and gene therapy. He is working to determine a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie cardiac injury and repair. One of his groundbreaking discoveries is the Hippo signaling pathway, a fundamental pathway for controlling organ size that is a critical inhibitor of cardiomyocyte proliferation during heart regeneration in a large animal model.
Liu earned his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from East China Normal University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Heart Institute in Houston.
HEART INSTITUTE: What do you most look forward to in your career here?
LIU: I aim to determine the molecular factors that are essential in cardiac regeneration and remodeling and develop gene therapy approaches to intervene in these processes to repair the heart. The research program is very supportive at Cincinnati Children’s, and I believe it will guide me toward my career success.
