PROJECT SUMMARY This multi-PI application seeks support for a first of its kind conference titled “Frontiers in Intraoperative Cardiac Tissue Identification”. The conference will promote the treatment of cardiac disease and is thus relevant to the mission of the NHLBI. Our specific objective is to introduce the clinical and research community in the field of pediatric cardiac surgery to advances in this field. There has been enormous progress in the management of children with congenital heart disease. As we tackle the increasing complexity of surgical procedures, there has been a proportionate increase in the risk of heart block necessitating pacemaker placement. We will explore emerging biomedical instrumentation and technologies that can be utilized for real-time tissue identification to mitigate this potential complication. The conference will gather experts in the various technologies which are currently being explored for real-time conduction tissue identification. We expect that this will stimulate critical thinking and clinical translation of these technologies to help prevent injury to the conduction system during the repair of congenital heart defects. We aim to create a forum for the presentation and development of new ideas and strategies for intraoperative cardiac tissue identification by bringing together scientists, engineers, and clinicians in congenital cardiovascular medicine. We will gather a group of presenters and participants comprising widely acknowledged leaders in the area as well as younger faculty and researchers who are involved in high- quality research in this field. Speakers will represent both clinicians and non-clinical scientists who work in the fields of cardiac surgery, pathology, imaging, image processing, and electrophysiology. We will place special emphasis on the participation of women, racial/ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities, thereby actively supporting diversity in cardiovascular science. With this conference, we aim to provide an interactive forum for students, postdocs, and junior investigators to present their work and interact with leaders in the field. Also, we aim to facilitate interactions between junior and under-represented minority scientists and clinicians working in the cardiothoracic surgery, imaging, image processing, and pathology fields with prominent senior and international investigators in the field. As a first of a kind conference, we expect an attendance of 80 to 120 participants. After implementation, we will evaluate the conference and envision that it will be held yearly in proximity to leading centers for cardiac surgery, heart transplantation or interventional cardiology.