Kevin O’Donnell Maher
Kevin O’Donnell Maher
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Phone: 404-694-1523 
E-mail: komaher@emory.edu 

Education

1980-1984  BS Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
1987-1991  MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine

 

Biography

Dr Kevin Maher graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, andthen completed a residency and chief residency in pediatrics, also at the University of Maryland.  He attended the University of Michigan for a fellowship in pediatric cardiology.  In 2004, Dr Maher joined the Pediatric Cardiology group at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine.  His primary clinical responsibilities are in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit at Children’s, where he serves as director of the cardiac ICU.    Dr Maher’s research activities include heart failure in children, cardiac biomarkers, pediatric medical device development and nanotechnologies for pediatric cardiac disease.  Dr Maher works on a number of collaborations with Georgia Institute of Technology, aiming to bring engineers into pediatric research and device development.  He is the director ofPediatric Cardiac Nanomedicine, the Co-director of the Center for Pediatric Innovation and the associate director of the Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium.  He is an adjunct associate professor of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech. Dr Maher has been an active member the American Heart Association, serving as the Atlanta Metro AHA Board president, and is currently on the national AHA Board.
Dr Maher resides with his wife and three children in Atlanta.

 

Research Interest

My research focuses on aspects of critical care in the pediatric cardiac patient.

  • Pediatric Device Development
  • B-Type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) in the diagnosis and management of critical heart disease in children.
  • Application of nanotechnology in the study of pediatric cardiac disease
  • Predictive analytics in critical care

 

Professional Activities:

Current Titles and Affiliations

  1. Academic Appointments:

Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
September (2010-present)

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (2014- present)

  1. Clinical Appointments:

Pediatric Cardiac Intensivist, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
August (2004-present)

Director, Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care,  Emory University Department of Pediatrics,  Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta GA (2014-present).

Honors and Awards

Resident Research Award, University of Maryland Department of Pediatrics (1995)

Chief Resident, Teaching and Patient Care Award, University Of Maryland Department of Pediatrics (1996)

Resident Teaching Award, University of Connecticut, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (2002)

Quality Award of Excellence, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (2007). 

 Media:  Interviewed for Children’s Hospitals Today, Fall 2015:  Big Data for Little Patients

Society Memberships

Bradley Pediatric Society, University of Maryland (1995)
American Academy of Pediatrics (2000-present)
American Heart Association (2006-present)
Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society (2007-present)
American College of Cardiology (2008-present)
International Society for Pediatric Innovation and Intelligence (2015-present)
The 1998 Society, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Physician Philanthropic Society, (2004-present)
1998 Society Board of Directors, (2006-present)
1998 Society Board Chairman (2012-2016)

 

Publications

  1. Published and Accepted Research Articles in Refereed Journals:
  1. Maher K, Morris J, Levine M.  Molecular Techniques in the Study of Salmonella typhi in Epidemiologic Studies in Endemic Areas.  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, July 1986; 35(4): 831-835
  2. Morris JG, Lin FY, Morrison CB, Gross RJ, Khabbaz R, Maher KO, Rowe B, Israel E, Libonati JP.  Molecular Epidemiology of Neonatal Meningitis due to Citrobacter diversus, a study of hospitals in Maryland.  Journal of Infectious Diseases, September 1986;154(3): 409-414.
  3. Nataro JP, Maher KO, Mackie P, Kaper JB. Characterization of plasmids encoding the adherence factor of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. Infection and Immunity, October 1987; 55(10): 2370-2377.
  4. Maher KO, Lloyd TR. Coil occlusion of a femoral arteriovenous fistula. Cardiac Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions; November 2000; 51(3): 308-311.      
  5. Maher K, Murphy JD.  Vascular access for cardiac catheterization of patients with congenital heart disease.  Progress in Pediatric Cardiology, November 2001; 14(1): 7-11.
  6. Maher KO, VanDerElzen K, Bove EL, Mosca RS, Chenoweth CE, Kulik TJ.  A retrospective review of three antibiotic prophylaxis regiments for pediatric cardiac surgical patients. Annals of Thoracic Surgery, October 2002;74: 1195-1200.
  7. Lim DS, Kulik TJ, Kim DW, Charpie JR, Crowley DC, Maher, K.  Aminophylline for the prevention of apnea during prostaglandin E1 infusion. Pediatrics, July 2003; 112(1): e27-29.
  8. Maher K, Norwood WI, Pizarro C, Gidding SS, Januszewska K, Malec E, Murphy JD, 2003.  Hemodynamic profile following the Norwood procedure with right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit.  Circulation, August 2003; 108(7): 782-784.
  9. Pizarro C, Malec E, Maher K, Januszewska K, Gidding SS, Murdison KA, Baffa JM, Norwood WI.  Right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit improves outcome after stage I Norwood for hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Circulation, September 2003;108 (Suppl II): II 155-160.
  10. Maher KO, Norwood WI. Right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit vs Blalock-Taussig shunt for the Norwood procedure.  Pediatric Cardiology Today; April  2004; 2(4): 1-3.
  11. Maher K, Murdison KA, Norwood WI, Murphy JD.  Transthoracic access for pediatric cardiac catheterization.  Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, August 2004; 63(1): 72-77. 
  12. Maher KO, Reed H, Cuadrado A, et al.  B-type natriuretic peptide in the emergency diagnosis of critical heart disease in children.  Pediatrics. June 2008; 121(6): e1484-1488.
  13. Drossner D, Kim D, Maher KO, Mahle WT.Pulmonary vein stenosis: Prematurity and associated conditions.  Pediatrics,  September 2008, 122(3): e656-e661
  14. Simsic JM, Mahle WT, Cuadrado A, Kirshbom PM, Maher KO.  Hemodynamic effects and safety of nesiritide in neonates with heart failure.  Journal of Intensive Care Medicine. November 2008; 23(6): 389-395. Epub 2008 Sep 19.
  15. Maher KO, Phelps H, Kirshbom P.  Near infrared spectroscopy changes with impending pericardial tamponade.  Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, January 2009;10(1) e13-15.
  16. Phelps HM,  Mahle  WT, Kim D,  Simsic JM, Kirshbom PK, Kanter KR,  Maher KO.  Postoperative Cerebral Oxygenation in Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome Following the Norwood Procedure.  Annals of Thoracic Surgery, May 2009; 87:1490-1494.
  17. Maher KO, Berg RA, Lindsey CW, Simsic J, Mahle WT.  Depth of sternal compression and intra-arterial blood pressure during CPR in infants following cardiac surgery.  Resuscitation, June 2009, 80(6): pp 662-664.
  18. Kogon B, Fernandez J, Kanter K, Kirshbom P, Vincent B, Maher K, Guzetta N.  The role of intraoperative indocyanine green fluorescence angiography in pediatric cardiac surgery.  Annals of Thoracic Surgery. August 2009; 88 (2): 632-636.
  19. Catherine M. Preissig Mark R. Rigby, Kevin O. Maher.  Glycemic Control for Postoperative Pediatric Cardiac Patients.  Pediatric Cardiology 2009; (8), 1098-1004.
  20. Simsic, J.M., Coleman, K., Maher, K.O., Cuadrado, A., Kirshbom, P.M .Do neonates with genetic abnormalities have an increased morbidity and mortality following cardiac surgery? Congenital Heart Disease 2009 (4) 3:160-165.
  21. Maher KO, Berg RA.  Reply to Letter: The need for abdominal-only CPR during the resuscitation of infants suffering cardiac arrest following cardiac surgery. Resuscitation, September 2009 80(9):1080-1081.
  22. Maher KO, Kim D, Mahle WT.  Utility of Bedside Angiography in the evaluation of vascular obstruction in the pediatric intensive care patient.  Pediatric Critical Care MedicinePediatric Critical Care Medicine 2010, Oct 7.
  23. Crain FE, Pham N, Wagoner SF, Rycus PT, Maher KO, Fortenberry JD.  Fulminant valvulitis from acute rheumatic fever: Successful use of extracorporeal support.  Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. 2010 Oct 1
  24. Brian Bridges, Catherine M. Preissig, Kevin O. Maher and Mark R. Rigby.  Continuous glucose monitors prove highly accurate in critically ill children. Critical Care Medicine 2010, 14(5):R176. 
  25. Rigby Mark, Preissig C, Brigdes B, Maher KO.  Letter to the Editor: Continuous subcutaneous glucose monitoring: good enough to use in glucose regulation protocols? Accepted to Critical Care Medicine December 2010.
  26. Jennings E, Cuadrado A, Maher KO, Kogon B, Kirshbom PM, Simsic JM.  Short-Term Outcomes in Premature Neonates Adhering to the Philosophy of Supportive Care Allowing for Weight Gain and Organ Maturation Prior to Cardiac Surgery.  J Intensive Care Med. 2011 Jan 21.
  27. Srikant Das1, MD, Agustin Rubio1, Janet Simsic, Brian Kogon , Paul Kirshbom, Kirk Kanter, Kevin O Maher.   Blood Stream Infections Increased after Delayed Sternal Closure - Cause or Coincidence.   Ann Thorac Surg. 2011 Mar;91(3):793-797.
  28. Brian E Kogon, Bahig M Shehata, Howard M Katzenstein, Cyrus Samai, William T Mahle, Kevin O Maher, and Thomas A Olson.  Primary Infantile fibrosarcoma of the heart:  the first confirmed case.  Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2011 Apr;91(4):1276-1280 .
  29. Kuo JA, Maher KO, Kirshbom PM, Mahle WT.  Red blood cell transfusion for infants with single-ventricle physiology. Pediatric Cardiology 2011 Apr;32(4):461-468.
  30. Shriprasad R. Deshpande, Paul M. Kirshbom, Kevin O. Maher.  Negative Pressure Ventilation as a Therapy for Post-operative Complications in a Patient with Single Ventricle Physiology.  Heart, Lung and Circulation 2011 20(12), December 2011, 763-767.
  31. Das S, Deshpandi S, Maher KO.  B-Type Natriuretic Peptide in the diagnosis of critical left sided heart disease.  Pediatric Emergency Care.  Pediatr Emerg Care 2012 Aug;28(8):735-738.
  32. Fay K, Maher K, Kogon B.  Pediatric Intracardiac Thrombus: A Diagnostic and Therapeutic Dilemma.  Accepted to Congenit Heart Dis. September 2012. 
  33. Camden L. Hebson, MD, Nikhil K. Chanani, MD, Mark R. Rigby, MD, Michael J. Wolf, MD, Shriprasad R. Deshpande, MD, Leticia M. Montegna, PharmD, Kevin O. Maher.  Safe and effective use of a glycemic control protocol for neonates in a cardiac intensive care unit.  Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2013. 14(3):284-289.
  34. Hebson C, Maher KO, Kanter K, Slesnick T.  Late development of a gigantic aneurysm of the neoaorta after Norwood Palliation.  Ann Thorac Surg. 2013. 95(4):1457
  35. Maher KO, Xu C. Marching Towards Regenerative Cardiac Therapy with Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. Discov Med 15(85):349-356, 2013.
  36. Santhanakrishnan A, Maher KO, Tang E, Khiabani RH, Johnson J, Yoganathan AP Hemodynamic Effects of Implanting a Unidirectional Valve in the Inferior Vena Cava of the Fontan Circulation Pathway: An In Vitro Investigation.   Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2013 Nov 15;305(10):H1538-1547 
  37. Janani Venugopalan, Nikhil Chanani, Kevin O Maher, May Wang.   icuARM – An ICU Clinical Decision Support System Using Association Rule Mining Accepted to:  Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine,  August 2013
  38. Chunhui Xu, Maher, KO, et al.  Microscale generation of cardiospheres promotes robust enrichment of cardiomyocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells.    Stem Cell Reports,  2014 Aug 12;3(2):260-268.
  39. Wolf MJ, Maher KO, Kanter KR, Kogon BE, Guzzetta NA, Mahle WT Early postoperative bleeding is independently associated with increased surgical mortality in infants after cardiopulmonary bypass.  J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2014 Aug;148(2):631-636.
  40. Chih-Wen Cheng, Kevin Maher, Nikhil Chanani, May Wang.  icuARM-II, Improving the Reliability of Personalized Risk Prediction in Pediatric Intensive Care Units.  Accepted to:  Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine, June 2014.
  41. Deshpande SR, Maher KO Long term negative pressure ventilation: Rescue for the failing Fontan? World J Cardiol. 2014 Aug 26;6(8):861-864
  42. Nguyen DC, Hookway TA, Wu Q, Jha R, Preininger MK, Chen X, Easley CA, Spearman P, Deshpande SR, Maher K, Wagner MB, McDevitt TC, Xu C.Microscale generation of cardiospheres promotes robust enrichment of cardiomyocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells.Stem Cell Reports. 2014 Aug 12;3(2):260-8
  43. Alsoufi B, Slesnick T, McCracken C, Ehrlich A, Kanter K, Schlosser B, Maher K, Sachdeva R, Kogon B.   Current outcomes of the Norwood operation in patients with single-ventricle malformations other than hypoplastic left heart syndrome.  . World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2015 Jan;6(1):46-52.
  44. Kogon BE, Kanter K, Alsoufi B, Maher K, Oster ME. Outcomes and hospital costs associated with the Norwood operation: beyond morbidity and mortality. Cardiol Young. 2015 Jun;25(5):860.
  45. Alsoufi B, Manlhiot C, Ehrlich A, Oster M, Kogon B, Mahle WT, Maher K, McCrindle BW, Kanter K.  Results of palliation with an initial pulmonary artery band in patients with single ventricle associated with unrestricted pulmonary blood flow.  J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2015 Jan;149(1):213-220. Epub 2014 Aug 8
  46. Wu PY, Chandramohan R, Phan JH, Mahle WT, Gaynor JW, Maher KO, Wang MD.Cardiovascular transcriptomics and epigenomics using next-generation sequencing: challenges, progress, and opportunities.Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2014 Oct;7(5):701-10.
  47. Jha R, Wile B, Wu Q, Morris AH, Maher KO, Wagner MB, Bao G, Xu C.  Molecular beacon-based detection and isolation of working-type cardiomyocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells.Biomaterials. 2015 May;50:176-8
  48. Wolf MJ, Maher KO, Kanter KR, Kogon BE, Guzzetta NA, Mahle WT. Early postoperative bleeding is independently associated with increased surgical mortality in infants after cardiopulmonary bypass. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2014. 148(2):631-6
  49. Nguyen DC, Hookway TA, Wu Q, Jha R, Preininger MK, Chen X, Easley CA, Spearman P, Deshpande SR, Maher K, Wagner MB, McDevitt TC, Xu C. Microscale generation of cardiospheres promotes robust enrichment of cardiomyocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells. Stem Cell Reports 2014. 3, 260-268.
  50. Jha R, Wile B, Wu Q, Morris AH, Maher KO, Wagner MB, Bao G, Xu C. Molecular beacon-based detection and isolation of working-type cardiomyocytes derived from human pluripotent stem cells. Biomaterials 50, 176-185 (2015)
  51. Maher KO, Chang AC, Shin A, Hunt J, Wong HR. Innovation in Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care: An Exponential Convergence Toward Transformation of Care
  52. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2015 Oct;6(4):588-96.
  1. Review Articles:
  1. Maher KO, Gidding SS, Baffa JM, Pizarro C, Norwood WI.  New Developments in the Treatment of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.  Minerva Pediatrica, 2004, Vol 56, No 1.  pp 41-49.
  2. Maher, KO.  CHD-LV outflow tract obstruction in: Clinical Decision Support: Critical Care Medicine, edited by  Kellum JA, Fortenberry JD, Fuchs BD, Shaw A.  2013.  Decision Support in Medicine, LLC. Wilmington, DE
  1. Book Chapters:

Charpie J,  Maher KO.  Transposition of the Great Arteries.  Emedicine/WebMD Chapter 2009

  1. Published Abstracts:
  1. Lim S, Kulik T, Kim D, Charpie J, Maher K. Aminophylline for the Prevention of Apnea during Prostaglandin E1 Infusion. Circulation. 2002: 5, 106 (suppl).
  2. Bridges BC, Preissig CM, Rigby MR, Maher KO. Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Critically ill children requiring mechanical ventilation. Crit Care Med 2008, Vol. 36, No. 12 (Suppl)
  3. Preissig CM, Maher KO, Rigby MR. Effective, safe treatment of hyperglycemia using protocolized insulin delivery in pediatric patients following cardiac surgery. Crit Care Med 2008, Vol. 36, No. 12 (Suppl)
  4. Preissig CM, Rigby MD, Maher KO. Hyperglycemia is prevalent in the pediatric cardiac intensive care patient and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Crit Care Med 2008, Vol. 36, No. 12 (Suppl)
  5. Bridges B, Preissig C, Maher K, Rigby M. Excellent correlation of continuous glucose monitoring with standard glucose measurements in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients. Crit Care Med 2009;38(12) Suppl
  6. Mao C, Vinten-Johansen J, Maher KO. Increased Blood Pressure and Depth of Chest Compressions Does Not Improve Cardiac Output or Organ Perfusion in a Swine Model of Pediatric Cardiac Arrest. Crit Care Med 2010, Vol 38, No. 12 (Suppl)
  7. Preissig C, Maher K, Keaton D, Huckaby J, Rigby M. The Development of a Consortium of Pediatric ICU Centers can Greatly Facilitate Research Efforts in Pediatric Critical Care. Crit Care Med. 2010, Vol. 38, No. 12 (Suppl)
  8. Maher K, Preissig C, Deshpandi S, Chanani N, Simsic J, Rigby M. Hyperlactatemia correlates with hyperglycemica but not necessarily decreased perfusion in post-operative pediatric cardiac patients. Crit Care Med. 2010, Vol. 38, No. 1

Other Activities:

  1. Atlantic Pediatric Device Consortium, Founding member and Associate-Director.  Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Georgia Tech.  (2010-present).  This FDA funded center focuses on developing medical devices specifically for children.  The consortium has supported in excess of 40 pediatric medical devices, resulting in several new products and companies.  I serve as a member of the executive board, clinical reviewer and device support. 
  2. Center for Pediatric Nanomedicine:  Founding Member and Clinical Director, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University School of Medicine, Georgia Tech (2011—present).  This center was developed to bring the novel technologies of Nanomedicine to focus on pediatric disease. 
  3. Center for Pediatric Innovation:  Co-Director (2012).Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta-Georgia Tech:  I proposed the development of this Center to capitalize on the numerous research opportunities that exist through engineering at Georgia Tech, with a focus on medical devices, regenerative medicine, biomedical engineering, and Big Data and Analytics.  Currently I serve as Co-director with this center with Dr Robert Guldberg at Ga Tech. 
  4. Founding Member, International Society of Pediatric Innovation (2015).  A group of approximately 30 leading Children’s Hospitals are interested in innovation in pediatric research and care.  We have put together a guiding team to continue this endeavor, aiming for extensive collaboration between institutions as we push innovation in pediatric healthcare.
    5.  

 

 

 

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