He’s interested in “translational medicine” — in converting basic research findings about heart failure into practical, useable treatments. He’s racked up one success already by helping to create a noninvasive way to track the prospects for rejection in heart transplant recipients. “Heart failure has become a bigger problem as we’ve gotten better at treating other cardiovascular diseases,” he says. “People survive a heart attack, but they have a weakened heart. … Our goal is to bridge the gap between basic research and therapies.”