How Cardiac Lymphatics Influence the Health of Heart Transplants

Date: October 15, 2026

Description: How does the recovery of the heart's lymphatic network after a transplant affect how long the new heart lasts? In this LE&RN Symposium from our Research Frontiers Series, Dr. Rebecca D. Levit of Emory University explores what happens to the heart's lymphatic vessels after transplantation. Dr. Levit explains why cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) remains the leading cause of late transplant failure, then presents her team's study of heart biopsies from transplant recipients, which found that patients with more cardiac lymphatics lived longer and, in this group, none died of a cardiac cause. She closes with the study's limitations and what the findings could mean for future therapies. The session is moderated by Ajit Muley, PhD, LE&RN's Science & Medical Director, and closes with audience Q&A.

About the speaker: Rebecca D. Levit, MD studies how the heart's lymphatic vessels recover after a heart transplant. Her research looks at how regrowing those vessels can calm inflammation and protect the new heart, pointing toward therapies that help transplant recipients live longer.