Dr. Todd Rosengart, professor and chair of the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). The 2025 NAI Fellowship class consists of 169 academic and institutional inventors, along with 16 international fellows. The program recognizes individuals whose inventions have significantly impacted quality of life, economic growth, and societal welfare.
Rosengart holds several roles at Baylor College of Medicine: DeBakey-Bard chair of surgery, professor of molecular and cellular biology, vice president of hospital operations and quality improvement, and professor of heart and vascular disease at the Texas Heart Institute at Baylor.
His research centers on gene therapy for cardiovascular disease. In 1997, Rosengart performed what is described as the world’s first viral-based cardiac gene therapy by injecting a virus into a patient’s heart to stimulate “biologic bypasses” or therapeutic angiogenesis. This work led to his co-founding Xylocor Therapeutics, which is conducting phase 2B trials internationally for patients with advanced coronary disease who are not candidates for traditional procedures.
“Using a small catheter, we can inject the virus directly into the heart muscle to have the heart grow its own bypasses,” said Rosengart. “In prior trials, we’ve seen that the patients have gotten better. Their angina or chest pain has been remarkably reduced. We now have objective data showing that blood flow to the heart is also improved.”
For those with a history of heart attack resulting in non-functional scar tissue replacing healthy muscle—leading to heart failure—Rosengart’s team has developed a gene combination that converts scar cells into beating heart muscle cells when injected into affected tissue. This approach could provide new treatment options for patients who might otherwise need transplants or mechanical support.
"I am honored to be elected as a 2025 NAI fellow. I am proud that this election reflects the work I and our team have been advancing for more than 30 years,” said Rosengart. “It’s very rewarding to have been able to take this from being a clinical problem to the benchtop and back to the clinic in a true example of a learning health system strategy, and I am pleased to continue this work here at Baylor College of Medicine.”
The current NAI Fellow class includes representatives from 127 universities, government agencies, and research institutions nationwide. Induction will occur during the organization’s annual conference scheduled for June 4, 2026 in Los Angeles.
