The findings were published in Cell Stem Cell. Heart valve disease affects approximately 28 million people worldwide and can arise from congenital abnormalities, infection, inflammation or age-related degeneration. The researchers also used the system to model inflammatory valve disease associated with rheumatic heart disease, a serious condition that can follow repeated or untreated infections. Her family has donated heart tissue to the Melbourne Children’s Heart Tissue Bank, where it is preserved for future research. DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2026.07.010Keywords: heart valves, pluripotent stem cells, regenerative medicine, congenital heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, inflammatory valve disease, tissue engineering, stem cell research, heart regeneration, human tissue models