Dana Gal, MD

Co-Medical Director, Cardiovascular Acute Care Unit
Director of Quality, Division of Cardiology
Attending Physician
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC

Dana Gal, MD, is a pediatric acute care cardiologist and an assistant professor of pediatrics in the division of pediatric cardiology at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. Dr. Gal joined the Heart Institute in 2022. She earned her medical degree from the University of California San Diego, and completed a pediatrics residency at the University of California San Francisco, followed by a cardiology fellowship at Stanford University and an advanced fellowship in acute care cardiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Dr. Gal’s clinical work and research aim to improve outcomes and delivery of care to hospitalized children with congenital heart disease. She has led work optimizing the work model in the CV Acute unit at CHLA and works closely with nursing and heart institute leadership on institute wide quality work. She is on the executive committee of the Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Collaborative, a founding network of Cardiac Networks United representing more than two-thirds of congenital heart centers in North America, and leads CHLA's involvement in this national organization.

Education

Medical School

University of California San Diego School of Medicine

Internship

University of California San Francisco, Pediatrics

Residency

University of California San Francisco, Pediatrics

Fellowship

Stanford University, Pediatric Cardiology
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology

Accomplishments

Certifications

American Board of Pediatrics, General Pediatrics
American Board of Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology

Professional Memberships

American Academy of Pediatrics
American Heart Association

Publications

Selamet Tierney ES, Gal D, Gauvreau K, Zhou J, Soluk Y, McElhinney DB, Colan SD, Geva T. Echocardiographic predictors of left ventricular dysfunction after aortic valve surgery in children with chronic aortic regurgitation. Congenit Heart Dis. 2013 Jul-Aug;8(4):308-15. doi: 10.1111/chd.12009. Epub 2012 Oct 18. PMID: 23075071.

Selamet Tierney ES, Gal D, Gauvreau K, Baker AL, Trevey S, O'Neill SR, Jaff MR, de Ferranti S, Fulton DR, Colan SD, Newburger JW. Vascular health in Kawasaki disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2013 Sep 17;62(12):1114-1121. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2013.04.090. Epub 2013 Jul 10. PMID: 23835006.

Selamet Tierney ES, Gauvreau K, Jaff MR, Gal D, Nourse SE, Trevey S, O'Neill S, Baker A, Newburger JW, Colan SD. Carotid artery intima-media thickness measurements in the youth: reproducibility and technical considerations. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2015 Mar;28(3):309-16. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2014.10.004. Epub 2014 Nov 20. PMID: 25459501.

McDonald ML, Liss MA, Nseyo UU, Gal DB, Kane CJ, Kader AK. Weight loss following radical cystectomy for McDonald ML, Liss MA, Nseyo UU, Gal DB, Kane CJ, Kader AK. Weight Loss Following Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer: Characterization and Effect on Survival. Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2017 Feb;15(1):86-92. doi: 10.1016/j.clgc.2016.06.009. Epub 2016 Jun 23. PMID: 27460433.

Gal DB, Wojciak J, Perera J, Tanel RE, Patel AR. Atrial standstill in a pediatric patient with associated caveolin-3 mutation. HeartRhythm Case Rep. 2017 Sep 5;3(11):513-516. doi: 10.1016/j.hrcr.2017.07.014. PMID: 29387541; PMCID: PMC5778098.

Gal DB, Char DS. Considerations for Triaging Elective Cases in Children With Cardiac Disease in a Time of Crisis. Circulation. 2020 Sep;142(9):824-826. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.047087. Epub 2020 Apr 13. PMID: 32282242; PMCID: PMC7454259.

Gal DB, Han B, Longhurst C, Scheinker D, Shin AY. Quantifying Electronic Health Record Data: A Potential Risk for Cognitive Overload. Hosp Pediatr. 2021 Feb;11(2):175-178. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2020-002402. PMID: 33500357.

Gal DB, Kwiatkowski DM, Cribb Fabersunne C, Kipps AK. Direct Discharge to Home From the Pediatric Cardiovascular ICU. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2022 Apr 1;23(4):e199-e207. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000002883. Epub 2022 Jan 19. PMID: 35044343.

Gal DB, Lechich KM, Jensen HK, Millett PC, Bolin E, Daily J, Jack JT, Stephens S, Jensen MO, Collins RT. The Sinotubular Junction-to-Aortic Annulus Ratio as a Determinant of Supravalvar Aortic Stenosis Severity. Am J Cardiol. 2022 Feb 1;164:118-122. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2021.10.030. Epub 2021 Nov 20. PMID: 34815057.

Gal DB, Morales A, Rojahn S, Callis T, Garcia J, Priest JR, Truty R, Vatta M, Nussbaum RL, Esplin ED, Hollander SA. Comprehensive Genetic Testing for Pediatric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Reveals Clinical Management Opportunities and Syndromic Conditions. Pediatr Cardiol. 2022 Mar;43(3):616-623. doi: 10.1007/s00246-021-02764-1. Epub 2021 Oct 29. PMID: 34714385; PMCID: PMC8554517.

Han B, Gal DB, Mafla M, Sacks LD, Singh AT, Shin AY. Role of Texting as a Source of Cognitive Burden in a Pediatric Cardiovascular ICU. Hosp Pediatr. 2021 Oct;11(10):e253-e257. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2021-005869. Epub 2021 Sep 8. PMID: 34497133.

Gal DB, Deuitch N, Lee SSJ, Simon RT, Char DS. Parental Attitudes Toward Clinical Genomic Sequencing in Children With Critical Cardiac Disease. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2021 Aug 1;22(8):e419-e426. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000002669. PMID: 33591072; PMCID: PMC8357848.

Research

Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology
Clinical communication
Quality improvement
Clinical Systems