Our lab aims to understand the mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias and how those relate to gross cardiac fibrosis and disease on an electrophysiological and molecular level
The overall objective of our lab is to study Atrial fibrillation (AF), a rapid, disorganized beating of the atrium of the heart. This is the most common clinical arrhythmia and is a leading cause of stroke and other morbidity. Atrial fibrillation has been associated with a number of heart conditions including mitral valve regurgitation and heart failure, but it can also occur without any of those conditions present.
Treatment for atrial fibrillation has traditionally been with medication, but it has proved to be less than 50% effective and has been shown to lead to a higher mortality than without medication. We have multiple ongoing studies in the lab that are studying the many aspects of AF from different angles. We have animal models of disease creation that help us see how AF develops with a chronic illness and how the type of AF can vary, even in that model.
The largest and most active, ongoing work in the lab is with our plan to collect blood for DNA from the general population. This will start the collection for a large sample DNA bank that will be used by the research community to study the genetic link between diseases and health with a focus on cardiovascular disease and AF. Use of the DNA is several years away, our immediate goal is to receive and store the DNA on campus.