Research Labs

Aromolaran Laboratory

The focus is on elucidating how normal cardiac electrical and biophysical properties are altered in obesity and associated pathologies (diabetes, inflammation and lipotoxicity).

Chaudhuri Laboratory

The Chaudhuri lab studies mitochondrial calcium signaling and intracellular ion channels. A main goal is to define how heart failure alters mitochondrial calcium signalling, since calcium is a potent stimulator of ATP synthesis. A second goal is to study intracellular ion channels, utilizing our extensive experience in subcellular electrophysiological analysis.

Dosdall Laboratory

The Dosdall lab utilizes cardiac mapping techniques to investigate the onset, maintenance, and treatments for cardiac arrhythmias. Specific areas of emphasis include understanding the mechanisms of irregular arrhythmias such as atrial and ventricular fibrillation and developing improved translational therapies for avoiding and terminating them

Drakos Laboratory

The Drakos Lab studies myocardial recovery in the chronic heart failure (HF) setting and the acute setting (i.e. acute HF/cardiogenic shock). Several ongoing research projects are focused on understanding the clinical, metabolic and molecular profile of the failing and recovered heart and utilize biological information derived from studies in humans, small and large animal HF models to help understand, predict and manipulate myocardial recovery.

Franklin Laboratory

The Franklin lab studies how the packaging of DNA around nucleosomes influences specific patterns of gene expression and how this packaging is modulated during disease to alter transcriptional activity. Their research aims to understand the mechanistic basis for how remodeling of chromatin induces the re-expression of fetal genes in the heart during the development of hypertrophy and failure.

Guo Laboratory

The Guo Laboratory’s research is focused on deciphering the pathogenicity of genetic variants in cardiovascular diseases.With the development of medical genetics and low-cost, rapid DNA sequencing technologies, a large number of genetic variants associated with cardiovascular diseases have been identified and released in population databases including ClinVar, ClinVar Miner, dbSNP, Exome sequencing project, 1000Genomes, and Human Gene Mutation Database.

Hoareau Laboratory

The Hoareau’s Resuscitation and Cellular Pathobiology Laboratory focuses on studying cellular responses to ischemia and mitigating the negative effects of trauma, particularly after severe blood losses. A particular area of interest is ischemia-reperfusion injury and mitochondrial pathobiology.

The laboratory explores ways to preserve organs, reduce damage, and improve resuscitation effectiveness. One of the several models the laboratory uses to study these phenomena is REBOA (Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta), a clinical technique leveraging aortic occlusion to control bleeding after severe torso injury. REBOA is also a perfect model to rigorously research basic cell responses to ischemia-reperfusion injury. The laboratory can analyze mitochondrial morphology and function and has full capability to test novel therapies for a wide range of traumatic injuries. Through this work, we hope to improve patient outcomes and reduce the deleterious effects of severe trauma

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Hong Laboratory

The Hong laboratory studies regulation and remodeling of membrane microdomains of cardiomyocytes during heart failure progression.They study how cardiomyocyte surface microdomains are organized to concentrate ion channels and signaling proteins for proper function and regulation in normal and failing hearts.

The research includes the mechanisms of scaffolding protein and cytoskeleton-based maintenance of membrane structures and subdomains important in calcium signaling, turnover mechanisms of microdomains, and the mechanisms of heart failure progression. The Hong lab’s goal is to identify, at the bench, new molecular and cellular targets that can be translated to develop new therapeutic tools for clinical management of heart failure.

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Palatinus Laboratory

The Palatinus Laboratory focus is on targeting this trafficking defect to rescue the cardiomyopathy and sudden death observed in a mouse model of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with the eventual goal to bring these therapeutic strategies to the bedside for preventing sudden cardiac death and treating cardiac arrythmias.

Ranjan Laboratory

The Ranjan lab studies the pathogenesis of cardiac arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation. The research involves using non-invasive imaging like MRI to quantify the structural changes in the atrial myocardium and study its clinical implications.

The lab is also keenly interested in developing an imaging modality to confirm the delivery of ablation lesions in real-time in the myocardial tissue.

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Selzman Laboratory

The Selzman lab utilizes models of pressure overload and subsequent relief to study remodeling and reverse remodeling in mice. We are looking at the transcriptional regulation of these pathologic events, and in particular, the role of nuclear factor kappa B.

Shaw Laboratory

The Shaw lab asks the question how membrane proteins such as ion channels arrive with specificity to their appropriate subdomain on the sarcolemmal membrane. Proteins cloned during basic investigations also have translational significance in diagnosing and treating failing hearts and organs subjected to ischemic damage.

Tristani-Firouzi Laboratory

The Tristani-Firouzi lab studies the structural basis of K+ channel function and the cellular mechanisms that underlie susceptibility to arrhythmia. Specifically, the lab is focused on understanding how voltage-gated K+ channels “sense” the surrounding membrane potential and the mechanism(s) through which voltage-sensing is coupled to channel opening and inactivation.

Computational Electrocardiology Laboratory(

MacLeod Laboratory)

The Computational Electrocardiology Lab (CEG) studies electrocardiographic mapping of the heart and body surface. Specific research areas includes cardiac electrophysiology in the study of acute ischemia and repolarization abnormalities; and computational electrophysiology in solving electrocardiographic forward and inverse problems.

TVP Laboratory(Donato/Lesniewski)

The TVP Laboratory’s research is focused on the mammalian vascular system. It is the lifeline of all tissues and organs within the body. Stretched end-to-end, the arteries, veins, and other vessels of the human circulatory system would measure about 60,000 miles, and in a given day, the human heart pumps about 1,800 gallons of blood through this vast network.