How to build a heart - from organ formation to function

Dr. Michelle Collins
Postdoctoral Fellow, Didier Stainier's Lab, Max Planck Institute of Heart and Lung Research
Wednesday, February 19, 2020 - 3:00pm
PGCRL Auditorium, 686 Bay St., SickKids
Faculty Recruitment Seminar
Abstract: 
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading global cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Many of these diseases have a significant genetic component that perturbs cardiac development and function. Genome-wide association studies and whole-exome sequencing approaches have identified a wealth of genetic risk factors for cardiovascular disease. However, a major barrier to the development of new therapeutics and personalized medicine is our limited understanding of the fundamental biology underlying disease-associated variants. The overarching aim of my research is to decipher the genetic and cellular abnormalities underlying defective cardiac rhythm and function using state-of-the-art genetic and imaging approaches in zebrafish and iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. In this seminar, I will highlight my work on how the loss of a key transcription factor, Pitx2c, leads to developmental defects in sarcomere organization and cardiac metabolism that precede the onset of cardiac arrhythmia in zebrafish. Additionally, I will discuss future plans to elucidate the function of genes associated with inherited forms of cardiac rhythm disorders and cardiomyopathies.
Host: 
Drs. Brian Ciruna and John Brumell
Developmental and Stem Cell Biology