Dr. Villa specializes in cardiomyopathy, heart failure, and heart transplantation. He currently leads the Cardiac
Neuromuscular Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where he specializes in the cardiac care of patients with neuromuscular
disorders. He holds a leadership role in Advanced Cardiac Therapies Improving Outcomes Network (ACTION), an international, multi-center
learning network focused on improving heart failure outcomes in children and young adults. As a founding leader of the ACTION
Muscular Dystrophy (ACTION-MD) group, he helped establish a collaborative effort focused on understanding real-world
outcomes in dystrophinopathies. This group now includes more than 30 centers across North America and supports a prospective natural history study launched in 2021. This work has been funded by grants from Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) and the Department of Defense (DOD).
I also serve as the co-director of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Heart Institute Research Core (HIRC), a team of > 50 research
professionals, including clinical research coordinators, statisticians, nurses, and business/administrative personnel, which supports
clinical research projects within the Heart Institute.