Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) awarded a Project Grant of $169,776 to the University of California, Los Angeles on July 15, 2026, under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837). The project, "Evaluating Cardiac Neural Control in Atrial Fibrillation," will conduct investigative research through June 30, 2031, to identify and characterize neural targets within the cardiac autonomic nervous system for treating atrial fibrillation (AF), the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia. The research will employ retrograde neural tracing in human donor hearts, single-nucleus RNA sequencing to map neural subpopulations, functional neuroanatomical studies using reanimated human tissue, and chronic porcine models to assess the long-term effects of ganglionated plexus ablation on AF inducibility and off-target adverse effects.

This project addresses a critical clinical gap: current pharmacologic and ablation therapies for AF have limited efficacy with high recurrence rates, and recent clinical trials of ganglionated plexus ablation—clusters of neurons embedded in epicardial fat pads—have demonstrated no benefit while causing adverse effects requiring pacemaker implantation. The research will deliver foundational knowledge on neural subsets suitable for targeted therapeutic intervention, potentially enabling more effective and safer treatment approaches for AF patients while minimizing collateral cardiovascular complications.