Vishal Nigam, MD, is a physician-scientist who is also a practicing pediatric cardiologist. His interest in cardiac develop was sparked as a Howard Hughes Medical Student Fellow with Dr. Robert J. Schwartz at Baylor College of Medicine. He pursued this interest by doing a post-doc with Deepak Srivastavsa at UT Southwestern and the Gladstone Institute at UCSF. In 2009, Dr. Nigam started his lab at UC San Diego, where he developed collaborations with engineers such as Drs. Andrew McCulloch, Jeff Omens, Juan Lasheras and Juan Carlos del Alamo. In October 2018, he joined Seattle Children’s/UW and is continuing his R01 funded efforts to combine molecular biology and engineering to improve the understanding and treatment of complex congenital heart defects, such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
In addition to his work as a physician and scientist, he is committed to guiding and elevating the work of young researchers. His professional generosity provides his team with the freedom to pursue interesting scientific questions while being available for guidance and support. Under his mentorship, post-doctoral students and undergraduates have authored papers and increased their visibility in the field.