Bahrman gift honors late husband, will support advancements in heart valve development
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MUNISING - Michigan State University College of Human Medicine has announced a major gift to the MSU Institute for Quantitative Health Science & Engineering in memory of David Bahrman, a lifelong Upper Peninsula farmer.
Through a $100,000 gift and a commitment of half her estate, Bahrman's wife of 37 years, Karen, is investing in pioneering heart valve research. Karen Bahrman is the former Alger County prosecutor who also worked in the prosecutor’s offices in Marquette and Delta counties.
"What we really need is not more great surgeons, but surgeons with better tools," said Karen Bahrman.
Inside the lab of Aitor Aguirre, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in MSU's College of Human Medicine, they're growing "organoids." These tiny, three-dimensional structures function like miniature human hearts.
Many experimental therapies fail once they meet human trials because the lab models used to test them don't fully replicate the human heart. Aguirre's organoids represent a major leap in physiological realism, because they closely mimic how real human heart tissue behaves.
"After a lifetime of valve replacement surgeries involving every type of currently available prosthetic valve, David did not survive his sixth open heart surgery in 2025 at age 67.
Karen met with Aguirre and Christopher Contag, PhD, inaugural James and Kathleen Cornelius Endowed Chair and founding director of the Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, to learn more about their work. She said their enthusiasm was contagious.
"I think there is really good agreement that tissue-engineered heart valves using the patient’s own cells are the future of valve replacement," said Karen. "I want to be on the ground floor of this."
A lifelong farmer and proud Yooper, David served as a regional director for the Michigan Farm Bureau. He was inducted into the Michigan Farmer's Hall of Fame in 2024.