Kevin Da

Pediatric heart failure can often lead to acute kidney injuries (AKIs), decreasing renal perfusion, glomerular filtration rate, and activating neurohormonal mechanisms to maintain cardiac output. Monitoring renal function provides prognostic value to reveal insights into worsening cardiac function, but often increases the burden of care and affects the lived experience of patients and families. Additionally, limited access to monitoring technologies poses a barrier to more remote and structurally disadvantaged communities where heart failure care inequities can be exacerbated. Co-supervised by Dr. Craig Simmons and Dr. Xinyu Liu, my research will focus on developing a wearable diagnostic biosensor platform for assessing renal dysfunction as a prognostic tool for pediatric heart failure. This platform will aim to provide more proactive and decentralized monitoring techniques to improve the experiences of those living with heart failure and provide more access to equitable care.