Shawn C. West, MD, MSc

  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Administrative Assistant: Mary Christensen

Shawn West graduated cum laude in 1997 from Berry College (Rome, Georgia) with a degree in chemistry and minor in mathematics. He completed his MD degree from the Medical College of Georgia of Augusta University (Augusta, GA) in 2001. He subsequently completed his pediatric residency (2001-2004) from the Medical College of Georgia and pediatric cardiology fellowship (2009-2012) from the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA). During fellowship, he also completed a Master’s degree in Clinical Research from the University of Virginia (2010-2011). Following fellowship, he pursued advanced training in heart transplant, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and advanced mechanical support from the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (2012-2013). As an advanced fellow, West served as the Claude R. Joyner Endowed Fellow in Pediatric Cardiology. West joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2013 as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Cardiology.

His main clinical role is in support of the heart transplant, cardiomyopathy (heart failure), advanced mechanical support, and pulmonary hypertension team. West was certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in general pediatrics in 2004 and in pediatric cardiology in 2012. West has participated in several multi-center collaborative research projects. HIs primary research interest is outcomes based research of patients following heart transplant.

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships

  • Pediatric Heart Transplant Society, 2011-Present
  • International Pediatric Transplant Association, 2012-Present
  • International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, 2013-Present
  • American Society of Transplant, 2013-Present
  • American Heart Association, 2016-Present
  • Pulmonary Hypertension Association, 2018-Present

Education & Training

  • BS, Chemistry, cum laude, Berry College, 1997
  • MD, Medicine, Augusta University Medical College of Georgia, 2001
  • Residency in Pediatrics, Augusta University Medical College of Georgia, 2001-2004
  • Fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology, University of Virginia, 2009-2012
  • MS, Clinical Research, University of Virginia, 2011
  • Fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, 2012-2013

Selected Publications

Butts RJ, Boyle GJ, Deshpande SR, Gambetta K, Knecht KR, Prada-Ruiz CA, Richmond ME, West SC, Lal AK.  Characteristics of Clinically Diagnosed Pediatric Myocarditis in a Contemporary Multi-Center Cohort.  Pediatr Cardiol. 2017 Aug;38(6):1175-1182. Epub 2017 May 23.

Mistry MS, Trucco SM, Maul T, Sharma MS, Wang L, West S.  Predictors of Poor Outcomes in Pediatric Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg. 2018 May;9(3):297-304. doi: 10.1177/2150135118762391. Epub 2018 Mar 18.

Mercer CW, West SC, Sharma MS, Yoshida M, Morell VO. Polytetrafluoroethylene conduits versus homografts for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction in infants and young children: An institutional experience. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2018 May;155(5):2082-2091.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2017.11.107. Epub 2018 Jan 31.

West SC, Webber SA, Zeevi A, Miller SA, Morell VO, Feingold B. Charges and resource utilization for pediatric heart transplantation across a positive virtual and/or cytotoxicity crossmatch. Pediatric Transplant. 2018 Feb;22(1). doi: 10.1111/petr.13095. Epub 2017 Dec 18. Schumacher KR, Yu S, Butts RJ, Castleberry C, Chen S, Edens E, Godown J , Johnson J , Kemna M, Lin K , Lowery R, Simpson K, West SC, Wilmot I , Gossett JG.   Fontan-associated protein-losing enteropathy and post-heart transplant outcomes: a multicenter study.  J Heart Lung Transplant.  2019 Jan;38(1):17-25.   PMID:30391195DOI:   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healun.2018.09.024

West SC, Friedland-Little JM, Schowengerdt KO Jr, Naftel DC, Pruitt Freeze E, Smith KS, Urschel S, Michaels MG, Kirklin JK, Feingold B.  Characteristics, risks, and outcomes of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease >3 years after pediatric heart transplant: A multicenter analysis.  Clin Transplant. 2019 May;33(5):e13521. doi: 10.1111/ctr.13521. Epub 2019 Apr 4.  PMID: 30861200

Zampi JD, Alghanem F, Yu S, Callahan R, Curzon CL, Delaney JW, Gray RG, Herbert CE, Leahy RA, Lowery R, Pasquali SK, Patel PM, Porras D, Shahanavaz S, Thiagarajan RR, Trucco SM, Turner ME, Veeram Reddy SR, West SC, Whiteside W, Goldstein BH. Relationship Between Time to Left Atrial Decompression and Outcomes in Patients Receiving Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support: A Multicenter Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Early-Career Society Study.  Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2019 Apr 8.  PMID: 30985609

Wittlieb-Weber C, Villa CR, Conway J, Bock MJ, Gambetta KE, Johnson JN, Lal AK, Schumacher KR, Law SP, Deshpande SR, West, SC, Friedland-Little JM, Lytrivi ID, McCulloch MA, Butts RJ, Weber DR, Knecht KR.   Use of advanced heart failure therapies in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.  Progress in Pediatric Cardiology. 2019 Jun;53:11-14. doi: 10.1016/j.ppedcard.2019.01.001. Epub 2019 Jan PMID:31360053

Magnetta DA, Godown J, West S, Zinn M, Rose-Felker K, Miller S, Feingold B. Impact of the 2016 revision of US pediatric heart allocation policy on waitlist characteristics and outcomes. Am J Transplant. 2019 Sep 22. doi: 10.1111/ajt.15567. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 31544351

Wittlieb-Weber CA, Knecht KR, Villa CR, Cunningham C, Conway J, Bock MJ, Gambetta KE, Lal AK, Schumacher KR, Law SP, Deshpande SR, West SC, Friedland-Little JM, Lytrivi ID, McCulloch MA, Butts RJ, Weber DR, Johnson JN. Risk Factors for Cardiac and Non-cardiac Causes of Death in Males with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  Pediatr Cardiol. 2020 Feb 3. doi: 10.1007/s00246-020-  02309-y. [Epub ahead of print].  PMID:320165

McCulloch MA, Lal AK, Knecht KR, Butts RJ,  Villa CR, Johnson JN, Conway J, Bock MJ, Schumacher KR, Law SP, Friedland-Little JM, Deshpande SR, West SC, Lytrivi ID, Gambetta KE, Wittlieb-Weber CA. Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Use in Males with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Severe Left Ventricular Dysfunction. Pediatric Cardiology.  2020. Accepted.

Full Publication List via NIH PubMed »

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