George F. Van Hare, MD, Director of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology
Dr. Van Hare is the Louis Larrick Ward Professor of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine. He trained in pediatrics at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, and in pediatric cardiology at the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the University of California, San Francisco. He has a special interest and expertise in pediatric cardiac electrophysiology, including catheter ablation and the implantation and management of pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Heart Rhythm Society.
David Balzer, MD, Director of Catheterization Services
Dr. Balzer is the director of the cardiac catheterization lab at St. Louis Children's Hospital. He was born in St. Louis and graduated from St. Louis University School of Medicine in 1985. He performed his residency at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital and was a cardiology fellow at St. Louis Children's Hospital. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1988-1991 as a staff pediatrician and director of pediatrics. Dr. Balzer is a member of the American College of Cardiology. He is an associate professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine.
Charles C. Canter, MD, Director of Transplant Services
Dr. Canter was born in Independence, MO, and graduated from St. Louis University School of Medicine in 1979. He was an intern and resident at St. Louis Children's Hospital, where he served a cardiology fellowship from 1982 to 1984. He is professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Canter, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, is director of the noninvasive imaging laboratory and medical director of the heart transplant program for children.
Susan R. Foerster, MD
Dr. Foerster was born in Winnipeg, Canada, and graduated from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1996. She performed her residency at Children’s Hospital, Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and was a cardiology fellow at the Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA. Dr. Foerster also completed a fourth-year fellowship in interventional pediatric cardiology at the Children’s Hospital of Boston. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Dr. Foerster is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine.
R. Mark Grady, MD
Dr. Grady was born in St. Louis, MO. He received his BA from Princeton University in 1984 and his MA and MD from Washington University School of Medicine in 1989. He performed his residency and pediatric cardiology fellowship at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Grady is an assistant professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine.
Patrick Y. Jay, MD, PhD
Dr. Jay was born in San Francisco, CA. He received his PhD and MD from Washington University School of Medicine in 1995. Dr. Jay performed his residency and pediatric cardiology fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Boston, MA. In 2004, he completed his postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Seigo Izumo, MD, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Jay is an assistant professor of pediatrics on the Investigator tract and assistant professor of genetics at Washington University School of Medicine.
Mark Johnson, MD
Dr. Johnson is an Attending Physician in the cardiology division, specializing in echocardiology and systemic hypertension. He was born in Denver, Colorado, and graduated from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1982. He served his residency at the University of Colorado Health Science Center and a fellowship at St. Louis Children's Hospital. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Cardiology. He is an associate professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine.
Jennifer Silva, MD, Director of Electrophysiology
She is involved in the evaluation and management of children requiring implanted pacemakers or automatic defibrillators.
Gautam K. Singh, MD
Dr. Singh was born in Patna, India and graduated from Patna Medical College, Patna, India in 1982. He performed his residency and pediatric cardiology fellowship at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Singh completed his postdoctoral research “Gene regulation in fetal sheep heart under hemodynamic overload" at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA in 1994. He is an associate professor of pediatrics, co-director of the echocardiography laboratory and director of noninvasive imaging research at Washington University School of Medicine.
Angela M. Sharkey, MD, Director of Fetal Echocardiography Services
Dr. Sharkey is an associate professor of pediatrics who specializes in echocardiography and is director of fetal echocardiography. She graduated from St. Louis University School of Medicine in 1986 and was a resident at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital and a fellow at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Sharkey is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Society of Pediatrics Echocardiography and the Academic Women's Network.
Charles B. Huddleston, MD, Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Dr. Huddleston is the director of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at St. Louis Children's Hospital. He was born in Sedalia, Missouri, and graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1978. He was a resident and fellow in surgery at Vanderbilt University Hospital, where he also was a research fellow and chief resident in surgery. He was a senior registrar at The Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, London, U.K. He is a captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve, and served in Bahrain during Operation Desert Storm. Dr. Huddleston is an associate professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine, and he is a member of numerous societies, including the American College of Surgeons, the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons.
Sanjiv K. Gandhi, MD, Cardiothoracic Surgeon
Dr. Gandhi is a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and an associate professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine. He is experienced in all aspects of congenital heart surgery, with particular expertise in pediatric electrophysiology, cardiopulmonary transplantation and mechanical support for pediatric heart failure. Dr. Gandhi received his medical degree from McGill University in Montreal. He completed a general surgery residency at St. Louis University School of Medicine, a cardiothoracic surgery research fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine, a cardiothoracic surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh, a pediatric cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and a pediatric cardiovascular surgery fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Dr. Gandhi has authored more than 50 scientific articles and is a member of the International Pediatric Transplant Association, the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation and the American College of Surgeons.
Ramzi Nicolas, MD
Dr. Nicolas graduated from the American University of Beirut in 1998. He performed his residency at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse. He completed his pediatric cardiology fellowship and fourth-year pediatric interventional cardiology fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine/St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Dr. Nicolas is an adjunct instructor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine and assistant professor of pediatrics at SIU School of Medicine.
Tara Demers, MSW, social worker
Katie Tarantola, MSW, social woker
Rebecca Courtney, CCLS Certified Child Life Specialist