Currently Funded Research Grants
2025 Thoracic Aortic Research Impact Grant
An AI/ML Framework for Predicting Thoracic Aortic Dissections Using Routine CT Imaging, EHR, and Genetic Data
Principal Investigator: Tooraj Mirshahi, PhD
Awarded funds: Over $104,543
This study proposes a new approach to predicting thoracic aortic dissection. Currently, providers often predict the risk of dissection by measuring the diameter of aorta. However, many patients have no clear symptoms or obvious enlargement of their aorta before dissection occurs, making early detection difficult. This project will create a predictive tool using artificial intelligence that considers data from medical records, genetic data, and images from routine CT scans.
Advanced machine learning algorithms will be used to recognize patterns that predict who is at higher risk for dissection. By better understanding the factors that lead to dissection, this research could help us identify those as risk before a catastrophic event.
AortaGPT: Facial Recognition and Artificial Intelligence to Guide Thoracic Aortic Disease Management
Principal Investigator: Siddharth Prakash, MD, PhD
Awarded funds: $100,000
The goal of this project is to create an easy-to-use tool called AortaGPT that can help doctors recognize and manage inherited diseases of the aorta.
AortaGPT will be powered by artificial intelligence and will work like a point-of-care assistant, something that can help doctors make better decisions quickly. It will analyze facial features that may be linked to specific genetic forms of aortic disease, pull in up-to-date genetic information, and combine clinical data to catch problems earlier and follow the best treatment plans — even in places where genetic testing is hard to get. And because it learns from new data over time, AortaGPT will keep getting smarter and more helpful.
Advancing Research in Smooth Muscle Dysfunction Syndrome (SMDS)
Smooth Muscle Dysfunction Syndrome (SMDS) is a rare and life-threatening genetic condition caused by specific changes in the ACTA2 gene, which disrupt the function of smooth muscle cells throughout the body. Individuals with SMDS face a high risk of early complications including aortic dissection, stroke, and lung disease. There are no approved treatments and limited guidance for care.
Funding from The JRF and Love for Livie has supported the development of the first clinical management guidelines used worldwide, creation of a first-of-its-kind mouse model to study the disease, and groundbreaking stem cell research that is uncovering why SMDS leads to such severe outcomes. These discoveries are already advancing the field and attracting additional major research investment.
Curren research includes an early-phase clinical trial of nicotinamide riboside (NR), a promising therapy aimed at preventing stroke and other complications. At the same time, insights from SMDS are informing related conditions like Moyamoya disease and advancing understanding of vascular and lung involvement more broadly, extending the impact of this research far beyond a single rare diagnosis.
The John Ritter Research Program in Aortic and Vascular Diseases
Principal Investigator: Dianna Milewicz, MD, PhD
Awarded funds: Over $1,000,000 to date
Since 2010, The John Ritter Foundation has provided funding and support for The John Ritter Research Program (JRRP), an independent research project conducted out of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston under the direction of Dr. Dianna Milewicz. The focus of JRRP is to discover more genes that cause thoracic aortic aneurysm or dissection, understand the genetic and environmental risk factors for developing thoracic aortic disease, and collect data on other symptoms associated with thoracic aortic disease.
Yield of Postmortem Genetic Testing in Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms and Dissections Presenting for Forensic Autopsy
Principal Investigator: Alison Krywancyk, MD
Awarded funds: $50,000
Thoracic aortic dissection is a relatively common cause of sudden and unexpected death. These individuals are often diagnosed at autopsy by a forensic pathologist. Despite years of literature proving a strong genetic basis for thoracic aortic disease, genetic testing is rarely performed in these settings due to both a lack of awareness, and a lack of resources. This study will examine the yield of postmortem genetic testing in aortic dissection, through whole genome sequencing. The results will reveal the yield of widescale testing, potentially justifying the expense.
Previously Funded Research Grants
A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial of Exercise in Aortic Dissection Survivors
Principal Investigators: Siddharth Prakash, MD, PhD, Alan Braverman, MD, Kim Eagle, MD
Awarded funds: $90,000
Patients frequently ask about what exercises may be safe and beneficial for patients who are living with aortic aneurysms or dissections. We know that sudden increases in blood pressure during exercise can trigger aortic dissection or rupture, but the precise nature of these risks are not well understood. There are no evidence-based guidelines to help answer these questions. The primary goal of this study was to test the safety and mental health benefits of a guided exercise program for people who survived an acute aortic dissection. The long-term goal of this research is to develop new guidelines for exercise and daily activities that promote the safety and well-being of all thoracic aortic dissection patients.
Mental Health in Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection (MHAAD) Initiative: resource development and evaluation
Principal Investigators: Gretchen MacCarrick, MS, CGC and Jennifer Rio, MS, CGC
Awarded funds: $65,000
Patients who have experienced aortic dissection or who are at risk of aortic dissection often experience diverse emotional reactions due to their health status. Studies have reported up to about 1/3 of patients experience isolation, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder during their journey with aortic disease. This project will create a mental health book resource that will be distributed to interested cardiology/surgical groups as well as made available online. Patient feedback will be collected to see what is helpful. Patient who agree will be consented to take part in a second part of the study that includes a 10- minute survey on emotional, physical, and social well-being. We will also ask about if interventions addressed in the book were accessed and/or what the barriers there were to getting help.
Derivation of a Clinical Decision Rule for the Diagnosis of Acute Aortic Syndrome
Principal Investigators: Sandra Schneider, MD, FACEP and Robert Ohle M.Sc., M.A., MBBCh, FRCPC
Awarded funds: $286,814
The John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health partnered with The American College of Emergency Physicians on a two-year research project designed to derive the “RITTER SCORE,” a clinical decision rule for diagnosing Acute Aortic Dissection in the emergency department. Acute aortic dissection involves blood leaking into the wall of the aorta, the major artery that supplies blood to the entire body. The chance of death from aortic dissection increases 2% per hour reaching 90% if undiagnosed. Currently 1 in 4 cases of acute aortic dissections are missed upon first presentation to a healthcare provider. The goal of this two-year study will retrospectively derive a clinical decision rule, the “RITTER SCORE,” for emergency department (ED) patients presenting with symptoms that are concerning for Acute Aortic Dissection.