The researchers were said to have discovered a specific cell, a Gata6+ pericardial cavity macrophage, in which it helped in healing the injured heart of a mice in the Kubes lab. This cell was discovered along the pericardial fluid within the sac, of the injured mice. Working along with cardiosurgeons, they found out that the same cells are present in the pericardium of people with heart injuries. This discovery opened the doors for possible therapies that would participate in healing heart injuries, since the heart only have very limited capacity to heal itself.

Working together and bringing expertise across disciplines the basic researchers working with the cardiac surgeon, clinician-researcher, have identified the cell in less than three years. A relatively quick time frame to move research from the lab and animal models to people.