Congenital heart defects account for five times more deaths annually than all childhood cancers combined. Alison Marsden, an assistant mechanical and aerospace engineering professor at the University of California at San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, has developed a unique set of computer modeling tools that are expected to enhance pediatric surgeons’ ability to perform heart surgery on children. Marsden’s work focuses on designing and using simulation tools to provide a way of testing new surgery designs on the computer before trying them on patients, much like, for example, engineers use computer codes to test new designs for airplanes or automobiles.