FIRST LOOK: New Approaches to Controlling Stem Cell Fate

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Embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, which can be propagated indefinitely in culture in an undifferentiated state or induced to differentiate into every cell type in the adult body, holds promise for regenerative medicine. Proper execution of these distinct but developmentally relevant programs requires precise tuning of gene expression by transcription factors. Indeed,…

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Quantitative Molecular Imaging for Cardiovascular Phenotypes

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More than 17 million deaths worldwide were attributed to heart disease in 2016, and cardiovascular ailments persistently remain one of the biggest causes of hospital admissions in the United States. Cardiovascular disease also accounts for more healthcare costs than any other chronic illness, and is responsible for one out of every three deaths, on average.…

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Quantitative Molecular Imaging for Cardiovascular Phenotypes

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More than 17 million deaths worldwide were attributed to heart disease in 2016, and cardiovascular ailments persistently remain one of the biggest causes of hospital admissions in the United States. Cardiovascular disease also accounts for more healthcare costs than any other chronic illness, and is responsible for one out of every three deaths, on average.…

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FIRST LOOK: Using Zebrafish to Understand and Harness Cardiac Regeneration

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The adult mammalian heart lacks any appreciable capacity to regenerate ischemia-damaged muscle. By comparison, injured zebrafish hearts mount an impressive regenerative response driven by robust myocardial proliferation. My laboratory’s research program is driven by the simple assumption that a complete understanding of cardiomyocyte proliferation regulatory mechanisms in zebrafish could be leveraged to promote heart regeneration…

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FIRST LOOK: Using Zebrafish to Understand and Harness Cardiac Regeneration

zebra

The adult mammalian heart lacks any appreciable capacity to regenerate ischemia-damaged muscle. By comparison, injured zebrafish hearts mount an impressive regenerative response driven by robust myocardial proliferation. My laboratory’s research program is driven by the simple assumption that a complete understanding of cardiomyocyte proliferation regulatory mechanisms in zebrafish could be leveraged to promote heart regeneration…

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Targeting Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disease

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Inflammation is the body’s natural way of protecting itself from harm. When fatty, cholesterol-rich plaque accumulates within the arterial walls, the immune system perceives it to be a foreign invader and sends white blood cells to attack, resulting in chronic low-grade arterial inflammation. It’s now believed that heart attacks and stroke are linked to this…

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Targeting Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disease

Inflammation is the body’s natural way of protecting itself from harm. When fatty, cholesterol-rich plaque accumulates within the arterial walls, the immune system perceives it to be a foreign invader and sends white blood cells to attack, resulting in chronic low-grade arterial inflammation. It’s now believed that heart attacks and stroke are linked to this…

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Expanding the Pool of Organs for Transplant

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Heart transplantation does not adequately address the magnitude and severity of advanced heart failure (HF), a global public health concern that has the potential to reach epidemic proportions. While the gold standard for treating end-stage HF continues to be heart transplantation, there are simply not enough donor hearts available (about 2,000) for the more than…

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FIRST LOOK: Stratifying Exercise Dysfunction

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Exercise dysfunction is highly prevalent across the global spectrum of medical diseases, and is a principal cause of morbidity and increased healthcare cost burden. Abnormalities in multiple organ systems often underlie exercise dysfunction. However, current methods for analyzing exercise test results often rely on a narrow subset of variables involving a single organ system. This…

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Understanding Why Exercise Works for Just About Everything

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Centuries ago, the Greek physician Hippocrates noted that when the body is “unused and left idle, it becomes liable to disease, defective in growth, and ages quickly.” These observations—made without the benefit of the exhaustive medical research and detailed studies that we have today—are just as valid now as they were then. Exercise is a…

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