According to The Cornell Chronicle, federal funding for a pediatric heart pump being developed at Cornell University has been restored after a seven-month pause, though the disruption is expected to push the project back by at least a year.
The funding supports development of the PediaFlow device, a miniature heart pump designed for children with severe heart conditions. Unlike existing technology that requires young patients to remain tethered to large, hospital-based machines, PediaFlow is about the size of an AA battery and could allow children to go home while their hearts recover or while they wait for a transplant.
A costly pause in research
The PediaFlow project, led by Cornell Engineering professor James Antaki, was among numerous Cornell research efforts hit with federal stop-work orders in April. Although most of those orders were lifted following a November agreement between Cornell and the federal government, researchers say the impact goes well beyond the months when funding was frozen.
“The amount of time that was lost is greater than those seven or eight months,” said Dr. Gary Koretzky, Cornell’s interim vice provost for research. He noted that restarting complex research involves rehiring staff, rebuilding teams, and restarting experiments—steps that take time even after money flows again.
During the funding halt, Antaki used discretionary funds to keep the project alive. Still, a postdoctoral researcher left for another job, and a lab staff member was laid off when funds ran low. Those losses, he said, will slow progress even as the project resumes.
High stakes for children and families
The restored $6.5 million Department of Defense grant will support preparation for in-human clinical trials, including manufacturing and regulatory approvals. Antaki said that without the interruption, the device would already be undergoing in-vivo testing.
Other Cornell researchers are facing similar challenges. Projects involving animal health, tick-borne disease detection, and military nutrition are restarting with revised timelines after students graduated, experiments paused, or staff moved on during the funding gap.
Despite the setbacks, Antaki remains determined to continue.
“I feel like I’m on a mission,” he said. “No one else is developing a pediatric heart pump, because it’s just not commercially viable. If I were to give up now, I would be shirking my responsibility.”
Researchers say the experience highlights how funding disruptions can ripple through universities, delaying innovations that could have life-changing impacts for patients—especially children waiting for critical medical advances.
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