Rushi Parikh, MD
Email: rparikh@mednet.ucla.edu
Lab website
Dr. Parikh’s primary research focus is on the mechanisms of cardiac allograft vasculopathy, a complex immune and inflammatory-mediated disease of the graft coronary arteries that occurs following heart transplantation. His current Career Development Award from the American Heart Association aims to use contemporary invasive tools to prospectively evaluate the role of endothelin-1 in the development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy in heart transplant recipients through a comprehensive assessment of coronary anatomy, physiology, and vasomotor function. In addition, he has recently received industry-sponsored grants that will involve the use of emerging invasive imaging modalities including optical coherence tomography (Abbott Vascular) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to further investigate plaque composition/development early after transplant and its impact on coronary physiology and outcomes. Previously, Dr. Parikh has examined the association of asymmetric dimethylarginine, a marker of nitric oxide-mediated endothelial dysfunction, with cardiac allograft vasculopathy.
Dr. Parikh’s other clinical research interests include fractional flow reserve and HIV-associated cardiovascular disease. He is also the Co-Assistant Director of the Interventional Cardiology Research Program and serves as a co-investigator on a number of clinical trials at UCLA.
