Heart Institute Faculty Spotlight
Faculty Spotlight
The Heart Institute continues to strengthen its offerings, attracting distinguished faculty from near and far. Hear from the latest faculty to join our Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and the newest member of our executive team.
Michael Gaies, MD, MPH, Executive Co-Director of the Heart Institute, Shares His Vision
Michael Gaies, MD, MPH, MS, was named executive co-director of the Cincinnati Children’s Heart Institute in December. He joins current Heart Institute executive co-directors Jeffery Molkentin, PhD, and David Morales, MD, to form a team that oversees and informs work in the areas of cardiology, cardiovascular research and cardiothoracic surgery, respectively.
Gaies also serves as division director of Pediatric Cardiology and is the Kindervelt Samuel Kaplan Chair in Cardiology.
He shares below his vision for the Heart Institute, which includes an emphasis on clinical care, data science and training the next generation. His focus is on:
- Exemplary patient outcomes, with explicit and visible goals
- Expanding on the strong foundation of data science to support clinical decision-making and personalizing care strategies
- An ongoing commitment to train future leaders in cardiovascular specialties
- Continuing to collaborate with outside organizations and experts to support children receiving the best care as close to home as possible
GAIES: As an institution with the resources and ambition to reach great heights, we can, and should, set our sights on leading the field of pediatric and congenital cardiovascular care clinically, scientifically, and as a training program.
Our patients’ and families’ clinical and quality of life outcomes define us.
We’re going to remain incredibly diligent in holding ourselves to the highest standards and providing the best possible outcomes. We will continuously monitor the outcomes that matter to patients and families and consistently ask, Is there a way we can do better? This is part of our day-to-day life here.
We aim to advance our field in a way that allows us to make more individualized decisions for patients.
This will require incorporating highly individualized decision factors into families’ choices, such as genetic and genomic data. We want to build our capacity in these domains. Once we have access to these newer forms of data to inform our decision-making, we have to be at the cutting edge in analyzing those decisions and in figuring out how to bring that data to the point of care so we’re making the best decisions for patients based on each individual’s unique characteristics.
Training the next generation of leaders in our field involves targeting those who aspire to greatness.
Our vision is to be the most impactful Heart Institute in the world. One way we create impact is by training the next generation of cardiologists, cardiac surgeons and cardiovascular scientists, and then putting them out into the world to help patients everywhere they go. Our commitment to a top-level training program is steadfast. This is one of the key ways we can impact children all over the world, increase access to great care, and extend that access as far and wide as we can.
Welcome to Our Newest Faculty Member
Marco Ricci, MD, MBA, FACS: Cardiothoracic Surgeon
Marco Ricci, MD, MBA, FACS, joins the Heart Institute as a cardiothoracic surgeon and researcher. His clinical specialties include pediatric cardiac surgery, adult congenital heart surgery, neonatal cardiac surgery, pediatric heart transplantation and pediatric mechanical circulatory support. He performs clinical research to improve outcomes for children who undergo congenital heart surgery and aims to find new ways to do things better.
Ricci received his MD at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” in Italy, and completed his general surgery residency at Mount Sinai School of Medicine Affiliated Program Consortium in New York. He completed a cardiothoracic surgery residency at both Buffalo General Hospital in New York and University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He then completed his training in pediatric cardiac surgery at Great Ormand Street Hospital for Children in London and Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital in the United Kingdom. Ricci also holds an MBA in Health Sector Management and Policy from the University of Miami School of Business in Florida.
HEART INSTITUTE: What do you most look forward to in your career here?
RICCI: I decided to join Cincinnati Children’s for the opportunity to work with the best and the brightest in the field. By working with an outstanding team, we can provide the most comprehensive care with the best outcomes for children with congenital heart disease.
