Frank F. Ing, MD

[CHLA] – One of the nation’s leading pediatric cardiologists in cardiac catheterization has joined Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Southern California. Frank F. Ing, MD, FAAP, FACC, FSCAI, has been named associate chief of Cardiology and director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He will also hold the position of professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics in the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

“This recruitment demonstrates Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’ commitment to hiring the best and brightest in their fields to deliver new and less invasive approaches to treating children,” says D. Brent Polk, MD, chair of the Department of Pediatrics and vice president of Academic Affairs at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and chair of Pediatrics and vice dean for Child Health at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “This is a core mission of the hospital. What made this recruitment possible was the combined strength of the institutions: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, The Saban Research Institute and USC’s Keck School of Medicine.”

Dr. Ing’s interest and research specialty is primarily in the development of transcatheter techniques and cardiovascular devices to treat congenital and structural heart disease from the fetus to the adult.  In addition to clinical trials and outcomes studies, he conducts research related to therapeutic catheterizations.  Most recently, in conjunction with the Department of Genetics at Baylor University, he is working on a transcatheter model to deliver genes carried on a viral vector for uptake in hepatic circulation. He is also in the vanguard of clinicians studying stent and the Melody Valve implantations.

“Frank Ing is among the top physicians internationally in his field,” says Richard D. Cordova, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “This is a major recruitment for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. We are thrilled to have Dr. Ing join our staff of renowned physician scientists and the hospital’s prestigious Heart Institute, the largest pediatric cardiovascular center in the West.”

Dr. Ing will be involved in the delivery of patient care services to all inpatients and outpatients of the Division of Cardiology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.  He will also be involved in the quality and accreditation of teaching programs for interns, residents and fellows in the Division of Cardiology. In addition, he will help lead a collaborative effort between the hospital and the Departments of Pediatrics and Cardiac Surgery to establish a Hybrid Catheterization Laboratory and a fetal cardiac intervention program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

“Dr. Ing’s innovative investigational procedures in the cardiac catheterization laboratory have earned him an international reputation and his addition to our faculty will enhance our scope of practice in the treatment of complex cardiac cases,” says cardiothoracic surgeon Vaughn Starnes, MD, co-director of the Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

“With Dr. Ing joining our current faculty, the Heart Institute will be able to offer expertise in all aspects of pediatric cardiology, unmatched by any other program in the western United States,” states Pediatric Cardiologist Michael Silka, MD, co-director of the Heart Institute and chief of the Division of Cardiology. “Dr. Ing’s recruitment reflects the commitment of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to provide the best and most advanced care possible for children with heart disease.  We welcome Dr. Ing to our faculty and look forward to his leadership in the advancement of our clinical and research programs.”

Dr. Ing comes from Texas Children’s Hospital where he previously served as director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and as a professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.

He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Cardiology and Society of Cardiac Angiography and Interventions.  He is also a regular faculty member on various international scientific conferences including the Pediatric Interventional Cardiology Symposium and Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics as well an invited speaker at various international meetings.  He is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and the Subspecialty Boards in Cardiology.

Prior to joining Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor in 2006, he was director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego and associate professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Ing received a bachelor’s degree in biology and Chinese studies, graduating magna cum laude from Yale University.  He received his medical degree from the Stony Brook School of Medicine in New York, and then completed his residency and chief residency in the Department of Pediatrics at New York University.  He completed a pediatric cardiology fellowship at Babies & Children’s Hospital at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and did an interventional cardiology fellowship at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine.

Board Certified in both general pediatrics and pediatric cardiology, he is a member of several professional societies, currently serving as a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Cardiology and the Society of Cardiac Angiography and Interventions. He has also served as a reviewer on eight peer review journals and has been a member of numerous academic and pediatric cardiology committees and councils. He has lectured at 136 cardiology conferences and summits around the globe and he has made abstract oral and poster presentations at 76 pediatric specialty events. Widely published, his manuscripts have appeared in 66 journals and he has contributed to or co-authored five books in the cardiology field.

Dr. Ing enjoys teaching and mentoring medical students, residents and fellows.  He takes special pride in training fourth year interventional fellows. During his career, many of his fellows have continued to contribute to the science of pediatric interventional cardiology and gone on to become catheterization laboratory directors and cardiology section chiefs at other institutions.

About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s hospital in California and among the top five in the nation for clinical excellence with its recent selection to the prestigious US News & World Report Honor Roll of best children’s hospitals.  Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. The hospital is also ranked among the country’s premier teaching hospitals, and has been affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932.