About The Lab
Dr. Ravi K. Ghanta is a distinguished Professor of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), where he also serves as the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at Ben Taub Hospital. He holds the title of Olga Keith Wiess Professor of Surgery and is the Program Director for the Thoracic Surgery Integrated Residency and Associate Program Director for the Thoracic Surgery Independent Fellowship at BCM.
Dr. Ghanta's clinical practice encompasses all aspects of adult cardiac surgery, including coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, diseases of the thoracic aorta, and heart failure. He has a particular interest in minimally invasive surgery, transcatheter valve therapy, mechanical circulatory assist devices, and heart transplantation.
Dr. Ghanta completed his undergraduate studies in Applied and Engineering Physics at Cornell University, where he was named a Merril Presidential Scholar. He earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, graduating with honors, and completed his residency in General Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School.
His research interests include immune-engineering to treat ischemic cardiomyopathy and leveraging data science to improve clinical outcomes. Dr. Ghanta has received numerous awards, including the Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Award for Development of Enduring Educational Materials and the 2023 Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching and Evaluation.
Lab Projects
Dr. Ghanta’s Translational Therapeutics Research comprehensively addresses critical medical challenges in the realms of cardiac, respiratory, cancer, and digital therapeutics.
The Heart. Focuses on ventricular remodeling in heart failure, including restraint therapy, stem cell therapy, and tissue engineering. The research has been funded by prestigious organizations such as the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.
Lungs. Developing therapies for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) using retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells encapsulated in alginate to deliver anti-inflammatory cytokines to the lungs and improve patient outcomes. Additionally, he has received a $2.8 million NIH R01 grant for his work on cell-based immunomodulation to suppress lung inflammation and promote repair.
Cancer. Focuses on understanding the mechanisms of chemotherapy and radiation resistance, exploring novel immunotherapy strategies, and enhancing anti-tumoral immunity by manipulating the tumor microenvironment. Includes work in pancreatic, colorectal, lung, and esophageal cancer.
Digital Therapeutics. To develop new tools in data science to advance surgical capabilities and improve outcomes by utilizing statistical modeling, machine learning, and artificial intelligence technologies with clinical data.
Lab Members
Contact Information
Lisa A. Villarreal
Operations Supervisor
lpalomo@bcm.edu
713-873-3440
