Skip to Main Content

Peter J. Gruber, MD, PhD

Professor of Surgery (Cardiac)
DownloadHi-Res Photo

Additional Titles

Chief, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Surgery

Vice Chair Research, Surgery

Contact Info

Cardiac Surgery

330 Cedar St, Brady Memorial Lab, 232

New Haven, CT 06520

United States

About

Titles

Professor of Surgery (Cardiac)

Chief, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Surgery; Vice Chair Research, Surgery

Biography

Dr. Gruber is a Professor of Surgery at the Yale School of Medicine and a Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. Over the past two decades, his clinical practice has focused on surgical repair of complex congenital heart disease; and research on understanding it’s molecular and genetic underpinnings and developing innovative therapies to improve cardiac function. He has contributed to discoveries that have shown the importance of epigenetic factors, especially histone deacetylases, in cardiac development and its response to ischemia-reperfusion injury. He earned his B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania (1985), M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (1992), and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, in Biochemistry and Biophysics (1992). He completed his dissertation in Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics and Metabolism at Rockefeller University. His post-doctoral fellowship in Cardiac Development was completed at the American Heart Association-Bugher Foundation Center for Molecular Biology at the University of California, San Diego (1994-1996). His clinical training in General and Cardiothoracic Surgery was completed at the Johns Hopkins Hospital (1992-1999) and Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (2002). He has held faculty appointments as Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Surgeon, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (2002-2011); Associate Professor, the D. Rees and Eleanor T Jensen Presidential Chair of Surgery, and Chief, Section of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine (2011-2014); and the Johann L.F. Ehrenhaft Professor and Chairman, Department of Cardiothoracic of Surgery at the University of Iowa (2014-2017). He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the American Surgical Association and has contributed over 150 scientific publications.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Subspecialty Fellowship
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (2002)
Fellowship
Johns Hopkins Hospital (2001)
Internship and Residency
Johns Hopkins Hospital (1998)
MD
University of Pennsylvania, Biochemistry and Biophysics (1992)
PhD
University of Pennsylvania, Biochemistry and Biophysics (1992)
BA
University of Pennsylvania, Biochemistry and Biophysics (1985)

Research

Overview

Epigenetic control cardiac development and performance

Our lab is studies the epigenetic control of ischemic injury. This project attempts to unravel the histone deacetylase, isoform-specific basis for protection of the ischemic myocardium. Our long-term goal is to understand how epigenetic modulators such as histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition can alter the response of the heart to ischemic injury. Our focus is to characterize specific HDAC isoforms that mediate this effect to help understand the pathological process. This will provide a sound scientific basis for further investigations HDAC-mediated modulation of ischemic injury in an isoform specific manner. In a series of complimentary experiments, we are examining another series of murine mutants to identify the balancing pathways of histone acetyl transferases.


Cardiac development- ventricular maturation

A complementary effort in the lab investigates the molecular processes that underlie ventricular maturation and compaction in the heart. The inner myocardial layer consists of finger-like trabeculae that project radially towards the center of the heart. In humans, defects in this process (ventricular non-compaction) result in arrhythmias and heart failure. Previously, we identified an allelic series of Gata4, Gata5, and Gata6 mutants, and identified that redundancy in these locus is important in myocardial development. Using unbiased methods of laser capture micro dissection and micro genomic methods, further experiments allowed to identify other key players in the developmental process of ventricular maturation.


Genetics of congenital heart disease- using iPS cells to model patient-specific responses

An important parallel to these experiments in model systems is our focus on human congenital heart disease. To date, we have recruited a total of over 1700 patients to our studies and expanded out initiative to include patients from 5 countries on 3 continents. We have performed whole exome and whole genome sequencing on hundreds of patients. We have identified new genetic variants that our group interrogates with mechanistic, functional studies in model systems including human embryonic stem cells, human induced progenitor stem cells, fly, and gene targeted mice, pigs and non-human primates.

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Peter J. Gruber's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

2020

2019

2016

2015

2014

Clinical Trials

Current Trials

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    Research

Clinical Care

Overview

Peter J. Gruber, MD, PhD, is the chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery for Yale Medicine and Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, and a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon who treats patients from infancy—in some cases before they are born—to adults. He specializes in complex congenital heart disease, also known as structural heart disease, and performs a wide spectrum of procedures and complex surgeries, including pediatric heart transplant.

“Congenital heart diseases can be pretty scary because it’s your heart, and because the situation can turn serious very quickly,” Dr. Gruber says. “Some people want to know all the details. Other people find details just scare them. So, I read what the family or what the children want to know, and then try to communicate with them in whatever way is appropriate in that particular situation.”

“When a congenital heart problem is identified early, in one way or another, it may not be curable, but it’s usually treatable,” he says. “The overall mortality rate for those who have surgery is less than 1 percent, and patients who have surgery usually go on to enjoy a good quality of life.” Dr. Gruber works with a team of cardiologists and other specialists to determine the best approach for each patient.

A professor of surgery at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Gruber has training as a developmental biologist and a geneticist, and he has a special interest in the molecular underpinnings of congenital heart disease. This work has impacted his work in the clinic as well. He had a patient with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, characterized by abnormal electrical pathways in the heart, who needed a complex reconstruction inside of her heart. After the surgery, she developed an unusual irregular heartbeat, and she told Dr. Gruber that other members of her family had experienced the same thing. So, his research group sequenced and examined their DNA. “We identified a gene that was newly associated with this disease, all based on the generosity of the patient and their family,” he says. Committed to innovation, he said, “the research today is the clinical care of tomorrow.”

“Overall, it’s a highly rewarding combination of taking care of kids with lethal diseases, giving them a shot at a normal life. Figuring out how it happened is icing on the cake.”

Clinical Specialties

Cardiac Surgery; Transplant Surgery

Fact Sheets

Board Certifications

  • Congenital Cardiac Surgery

    Certification Organization
    AB of Surgery
    Latest Certification Date
    2020
    Original Certification Date
    2010
  • Thoracic & Cardiac Surgery

    Certification Organization
    AB of Surgery
    Latest Certification Date
    2023
    Original Certification Date
    2004

Yale Medicine News

Get In Touch

Contacts

Appointment Number
Mailing Address

Cardiac Surgery

330 Cedar St, Brady Memorial Lab, 232

New Haven, CT 06520

United States

Administrative Support

Locations

  • Patient Care Locations

    Are You a Patient? View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.