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| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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Director - Yoram Rudy, Ph.D., F.A.H.A., F.H.R.S.
(Case Western Reserve University, 1978); The Fred Saigh Distinguished Professor of Engineering; Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Cell Biology & Physiology, Medicine, Radiology, and Pediatrics; Director of the Cardiac Bioelectricity and Arrhythmia Center (CBAC)
Research Interests:
Our research aims at understanding the mechanisms that underlie normal and abnormal rhythms of the heart at various levels, from the molecular (ion channel) and cellular to the whole heart. We are also developing a novel noninvasive imaging modality (Electrocardiographic Imaging, ECGI) for the diagnosis and guided therapy of cardiac arrhythmias. Through the development of detailed mathematical models of cardiac cells and tissue, we are investigating the mechanisms and consequences of genetically-inherited cardiac arrhythmias, impa ire d cell-to-cell communication, and abnormal spread of the cardiac impulse in the diseased heart (e.g. myocardial infarction). ECGI imaging is currently being tested, evaluated and applied in patients with various heart conditions.
Websites:
http://rudylab.wustl.edu
http://cbac.wustl.edu
Email:
rudy@wustl.edu |
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Luciano C. Amado, M.D.
(Escola Baiana de Medicina E. Saude Publica, Salvadore, Brazil, 1996);Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Electrophysiology Section, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
Atrial fibrillation, cardiac arrhythmia, heart disease
Website:
http:/wuphysicians.wustl.edu/physician2.aspx?PhysNum=3944
Email:
lamado@wustl.edu |
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R. Martin Arthur, Ph.D.
(University of Pennsylvania, 1968); Newton R. and Sarah Louisa Glasgow Wilson Professor of Engineering; Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering; Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests:
Studies carried out by Professor Arthur in collaboration with cardiologists at the Washington University School of Medicine are aimed at identifying adults who have had a heart attack and are at increased risk of having a subsequent attack. Even when these patients' hearts are beating normally, there are changes in their electrocardiograms that indicate they are at increased risk of developing a new life-threatening arrhythmia. Professor Arthur and his colleagues have identified subtle changes that occur in the spatial distribution, spectral characteristics, as well as in the waveforms of the electrocardiograms from patients at risk. Risk of arrhythmia occurrence is determined from the analysis of torso shape and from the nature and distribution of body-surface electrocardiograms. In another series of studies, one aimed at improving ultrasonic techniques for the detection and staging of cancer, Professor Arthur has devised synthetic-focus algorithms for medical ultrasonic imaging. In contrast to conventional imaging methods, these ellipsoidal-backprojection algorithms permit images produced by an array of transducers to be in focus at each picture element. Adaptive-focus techniques are being developed to improve image focus and simultaneously extract a velocity map of the tissue being imaged. In a joint effort, Professors Arthur and William D. Richard are developing special-purpose computer architectures to support real-time ellipsoidal backprojection imaging. This imaging system will use massive parallelism and will be based on custom CMOS VLSI circuits currently under development.
Website:
http://ee.wustl.edu/~rma/bio.html
Email:
rma@ese.wustl.edu |
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Philip V. Bayly, Ph.D.
(Duke University, 1993); Department Chair and Professor, Lilyan and E. Lisle Hughes Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, and Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests:
The application of nonlinear dynamics and vibrations to mechanical and biomedical systems, MR imaging of motion, mechanics of brain injury, impact, vibration, wave motion, and instability are among Professor Bayly's research interests.
Website:
http://mems.wustl.edu
Email:
pvb@me.wustl.edu |
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Preben Bjerregaard, M.D., D.M.Sc.
(University of Aarhus, Denmark 1969);Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Washington University School of Medicine, Section Head, Cardiac Electrophysiology, John Cochran VA Medical Center, St. Louis
Research Interests: Dr. Bjerregaard’s research interests are best illustrated by research projects he has been involved with: 1) Amiodarone’s pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics using high-pressure-liquid chromatography 2) Cardiac manifestations of Juvenile Amaurotic Idiocy, 3) The relationship between the sodium-potassium pump and cardiac muscle performance (in co-operation with Jens Christian Skou, University of Aarhus, Denmark, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1997 for his discovery of the sodium-potassium pump), and 4) Defining normal limits for arrhythmias by Holter monitoring of apparently healthy subjects. Currently his main interest is cardiac channelopathies which has lead to the demonstration of a relationship between a prominent J-wave and ventricular tachycardia (First US publication of The Brugada Syndrome) and his discovery of a relationship between a short QT interval and atrial and ventricular fibrillation (Short QT Syndrome).
Website:
www.shortqtsyndrome.org
Email:
pbjerreg@dom.wustl.edu |
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Sanjeev Bhalla, M.D.
(Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons);Chief of Cardiothoracic Imaging Services, Associate Professor of Radiology; Assistant-Director, Radiology Residence Program, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Research Interests:
Dr. Bhalla is an expert in computed tomography of the chest, and is actively investigating the use of multi-detector array CT with 3-D reconstruction as an alternative to pulmonary angiography in the diagnosis of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations in HHT.
Email:
http://wuphysicians.wustl.edu/physician2.aspx?PhysNum=2802
Email:
bhallas@wustl.edu
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Jane Chen, M.D.
(Washington University School of medicine, 1993); Associate Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
My clinical interests involve all aspects of interventional arrhythmia therapy including implantation of pacemakers, defibrillators, and biventricular systems, as well as ablative therapy for supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias, and management of atrial fibrillation. My research interests are mainly clinical, and I participate in multicenter trials involving devices and new technologies to assess risks for sudden cardiac death. I also am very involved in community education to raise awareness of heart disease and SCD in women.
Website:
http://cardiology.wustl.edu/faculty/chen.html
Email:
janechen@im.wustl.edu |
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Daniel H. Cooper, M.D.
(Daniel H. Cooper); Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
My current collaboration with Dr. Rudy’s lab looking at the differences in electrophysiologic substrate in ischemic cardiomyopathy patients with and without clinical ventricular arrhythmias is particularly exciting. We are utilizing ECGi to noninvasively characterize patients who have required ICD therapy to terminate VT and comparing them to patients who have never received ICD therapy despite being > 4 years since implant and having, on the surface, similar clinical characteristics. Preliminary results suggest patients with VT tend to have larger areas of abnormal electrophysiologic substrate and have a greater prevalence of electrogram characteristics reflective of scar heterogeneity. A better understanding of what makes these patients different will aid in our ability to risk stratify our patients and could contribute to decisions regarding ablative therapies in the future.
In the next few years, I hope to quickly build a successful, busy clinical practice. I hope to offer my patients the opportunity to participate in research that will be geared towards advancing our understanding of their ailment. Through my collaboration with scientists in CBAC I hope to contribute to cutting edge research that will push the science forward and provide us the insight and/or technology not yet available to improve outcomes for our patients.
Website:
Email:
dcooper@dom.wustl.edu |
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Phillip S. Cuculich, MD
(Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 2001) Assistant Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Washington University School of Medicine
Clinical interests: Arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death, atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia.
Under the guidance of the clinical electrophysiology division, Dr. Cuculich was involved in reporting the Washington University experience demonstrating an overall poor prognosis for patients with chronic kidney disease despite ICD therapy for the primary prevention of sudden death. He has also served as editor of the Washington Manual Cardiovascular Medicine Subspecialty Consult, 2nd Edition.
Research interests: Clinical Application of ECGI
Under the mentorship of Dr. Yoram Rudy, Dr. Cuculich has applied a noninvasive electrocardiographic imaging system (ECGI) to create three-dimensional electroanatomic maps of various arrhythmias, with a special focus on ventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation. Through better understanding of basic mechanisms of arrhythmia, the ultimate clinical application of his research is to tailor specific therapies for individual patients based on the unique electrophysiologic characteristics of each arrhythmia.
Website: http://rudylab.wustl.edu
Email: pcuculic@wustl.edu |
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Jianmin Cui, Ph.D.
(State University of New York, 1992); Spencer T. Olin Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests:
biophysics, molecular biology, ion channels in physiology and disease, channel structure-function relationship, ultrasound-mediated drug and gene delivery. Ion channels are the molecular units of electrical activity in all cell types. Bioelectricity is generated and modulated as different types of channels open and close in response to various stimuli, such as the binding of a neurotransmitter from outside the cell, a second messenger from inside the cell, or a change in the voltage across the membrane. My research interests focus on the mechanisms underlying conformational changes that occur as the channels open and close and on the interaction of ion channels with other molecules during cellular electrical activity. The approach in our research is to use a combination of molecular biology, protein biochemistry, patch clamp techniques, and biophysical analysis and kinetic modeling. This approach allows us to manipulate channel protein structure, estimate the number of distinct conformational states of the channel protein, and determine the energy associated with the transitions among these states. Current projects involve two potassium channels: 1) The BK type calcium-activated potassium channels, which are important in, among other physiological processes, the control of blood vessel diameter and neurotransmitter release. They are implicated in hypertension and epilepsy; 2) The IKs potassium channels that play a key role in the rhythmic control of the heart rate. Defects in the channel protein have been shown to cause severe inherited cardiac arrhythmias that often lead to syncope and sudden death.
Website:
http://biomed.wustl.edu/faculty/Cui/
Email:
jcui@biomed.wustl.edu |
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Ralph J. Damiano, Jr., M.D.
(Duke University School of Medicine, 1980); John M. Shoenberg Professor of Surgery; Chief of Cardiac Surgery
Research Interests:
Surgical treatment of arrhythmias; Pathophysiology of surgical ischemia; Hyperpolarizing cardioplegia; Cell volume regulation during cardioplegia; Transplant preservation (donor heart); Surgical robotics; Minimally invasive cardiac surgery
Clinical Interests:
Robotically assisted cardiac surgery; Endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting; Beating heart surgery; Coronary artery revascularization; Valve repair and replacement; Arrhythmia surgery; Minimally invasive cardiac surgery; Transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMR)
Website:
http://surgery.wustl.edu/cv.aspx?drid=154
Email:
damianor@msnotes.wustl.edu |
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Victor G. Davila-Roman, M.D.
(University of Puerto Rico, 1981); Professor of Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Radiology; Medical Director, Cardiovascular Imaging and Clinical Research Core Laboratory, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
Research interests are in the use of noninvasive cardiovacular imaging techniques to evaluate heart and blood vessel function. Specifically, I have been studying diseases of the heart, such as left ventricular hypertrophy that develops from high blood pressure. In the early stages of this disease, the heart function is normal and the walls of the myocardium become thickened. In the late stages of the disease, the walls become thin, the heart dilates, and the contractile function decreases. The reasons for this decrease have not been established, but animal data suggest that alterations in myocardial blood flow lead to changes in metabolic substrate utilization (i.e., glucose and fatty acids), and that these changes result in the heart becoming a less efficient pump. My research involves elucidation of some of the mechanisms that lead to this decompensated state in patients.
Website:
http://cardiology.wustl.edu/details.aspx?NavID=649
Email:
vdavila@wustl.edu |
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Igor R. Efimov, Ph.D.
(Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 1992); The Lucy and Stanley Lopata Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests:
My lab is interested in developing better understanding of mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias. We develop novel imaging modalities and mathematical models of the heart to investigate how electrical impulse propagates in the heart and when the propagation fails how a tornado-like arrhythmia develops, and how it can be terminated. We are also interested in bringing our scientific findings to clinical settings and work on technology transfer in the field of defibrillation.
Website:
http://efimov.wustl.edu
Email:
igor@wustl.edu |
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Mitchell N. Faddis, M.D., Ph.D.
(Washington University, 1993); Associate Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division; Section Head, Cardiac Electrophysiology
Research Interests:
Catheter treatment of atrial fibrillation, pacemaker therapy for congestive heart failure, three dimensional imaging of the heart to guide catheter treatment of arrhythmias.
Website:
http://cardiology.wustl.edu/details.aspx?NavID=561
Email:
MFaddis@wustl.edu |
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Richard W. Gross, M.D., Ph.D.
(New York University Medical School, 1976; Cardiology Fellow, Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, 1978-81; Washington University, St. Louis, Ph.D., 1982); Professor of Medicine, Chemistry, and Developmental Biology; Director, Division of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Research Interests:
Our research is focused on the chemical biology of membranes in health and disease. Biologic membranes are comprised of a structurally diverse array of thousands of distinct chemical entities in a bilayer configuration that are in constant motion providing a rich repertoire of chemical forces that can be used to modulate the conformation and function of transmembrane proteins such as ion channels and ion pumps. Through adaptation of a bilayer structure membranes serve as a hydrophobic scaffold for the organization of complex supramolecular chemical assemblies that are used in biologic systems as signaling platforms.
These highly specialized signaling assemblies facilitate the transmission of chemical information between intracellular membrane compartments as well as the intercellular flow of information between cells. Biologic membranes also serve as the intracellular storage depot of latent lipid second messengers of signal transduction (e.g., esterified arachidonic acid) that are hydrolyzed by phospholipases in response to changes in a cell’s external environment or after receipt of a chemical or electrical signal from distant cells. Finally, biologic membrane bilayers are the fundamental structural elements responsible for the trafficking of proteins, lipids and nucleic acids to different compartments within cells or, through membrane fusion, for the release of information from a genetically programmed specialized cell into the blood stream (e.g., insulin release into the blood stream from b cells in the pancreas). Our laboratory uses and develops many different chemical methods to study the structure and function of membrane systems to both advance our understanding of the fundamental processes underlying the chemistry of biologic membranes and to use this information to develop new strategies to have a favorable impact on the major disease processes of the 21st century.
Recently, industrialized nations have been afflicted with an epidemic of obesity precipitating the metabolic syndrome (hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis). To identify the chemical mechanisms through which obesity predisposes to these disease processes, we have developed a novel technology, termed shotgun lipidomics, which allows the direct identification and quantitation of hundreds of lipid molecular species directly from organic extracts of tissue or biologic fluids.
Shotgun lipidomics is comprised of intrasource separation, multidimensional mass spectrometry, and array analysis. Through the judicious use of stable isotopes, alterations in the kinetics of specific membrane chemical processes, and the dynamics of lipid-protein and lipid-lipid interactions can be readily examined with unprecedented speed and accuracy. Currently we are using this technology to explore altered heart metabolism (metabolomics) through a systematic chemical biology approach. Through the identification of critical metabolic nodes specific to disease states and the effects of pharmaceuticals on the influx and efflux of metabolites into common intermediates, new insights into dysfunctional lipid metabolism in disease and the effects of therapeutic agents can be gathered.
During the last decade, we have made substantial progress in understanding the chemical mechanisms regulating the intracellular phospholipases that release lipid second messengers. Through recombinant DNA techniques, we now express large quantities of these proteins to study their structure and regulatory mechanisms through a variety of chemical and molecular biologic methods. Of particular current interest are the mechanisms that regulate the recognition of membrane surfaces by signaling phospholipases and the resultant alterations in protein structure and function they engender.The recent identification of new signaling mechanisms mediated through phospholipase-calmodulin membrane-associated signaling platforms is rapidly expanding our understanding of the partnership of membranes and proteins in signaling functions. Through exploiting new advances in proteomics using both electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) quadrupole time of flight spectrometer, high throughput analyses of the specific chemical mechanisms, and protein-target interactions regulating signaling phospholipases in multiple biologically relevant context can be made. Through this work, we seek to understand the mechanisms activating signaling proteins and identify new targets for pharmaceutical intervention.
Website:
http://chemistry.wustl.edu
Email:
rgross@wustl.edu |
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Patrick Y. Jay, M.D., Ph.D.
(Washington University, 1995); Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Genetics, St. Louis Children's Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
Function of the cardiac transcription factor Nkx2-5 in the development of the cardiac conduction system and heart. Role of Nkx2-5 in the pathogenesis of postnatal conduction defects and cardiomyopathy. Genomic analysis of cardiac gene expression.
Clinical Activities:
Pediatric cardiologist, St. Louis Children's Hospital.
Website:
not listed
Email:
jay_p@kids.wustl.edu |
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R. Gilbert Jost, M.D.
(Yale Medical School, 1969); Elizabeth Mallinckrodt Professor of Radiology; Chairman, Department of Radiology; Director, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Research and Clinical Interests:
Radiology, medical imaging, new technologies, digital radiology, digital networking, x-rays, alternative screening
Website:
http://www.mir.wustl.edu/
Email:
jostg@wustl.edu |
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Sándor J Kovács, Ph.D., M.D.
(Ph.D., Caltech, 1977; M.D., University of Miami, 1979); Professor of Internal Medicine, Physics and Biomedical Engineering; Director and Founder, Cardiovascular Biophysics Laboratory
Research Interests:
The Cardiovascular Biophysics Research Group (CBRG) pursues a multi-disciplinary (theory + experiment) program encompassing selected aspects of physiology, engineering, physics and the clinical medicine. The overall goal is to solve basic and applied problems in cardiovascular physiology and medicine using a multidisciplinary approach, to discover "new" physiology, and to advance the frontiers of diagnosis and therapy. Areas of interest include: characterization of the kinematic and material properties of cardiovascular tissue and its relation to matrix biology, 4-chamber heart function, diastolic function, ventriculo-arterial impedance, maximization of information extraction from physiologic signals, mathematical modeling of cardiovascular function and its in-vivo verification, and development of new technology for imaging and physiologic signal acquisition and processing.
Websites:
http://dbbs.wustl.edu/rib/KovacsSanJ
http://cbl1.wustl.edu
Email:
sjk@wuphys.wustl.edu |
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Mark Levin, M.D.
(Boston University School of Medicine, 1998); Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Instructor in Pediatrics, Attending Cardiologist, Arrhythmia Service, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Washington University School of Medicine.
Research Interests:
I am interested in using animal models to understand molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying arrhythmias. My recent work has focused on characterizing a previously unrecognized cell population found in human and mouse pulmonary veins. These newly found cells are electrically excitable and express voltage dependent channels and connexins, allowing them to initiate and propagate electrical activity. Surprisingly, these cells also express melanocyte markers, including dopachrome tautomerase (Dct). Furthermore, mice lacking Dct (Dct-/-) show spontaneous and induced atrial fibrillation, despite having a structurally normal heart. Primary cultures of cardiac melanocyte-like cells (CMLCs) isolated from Dct-/- mice have prolonged action potential duration (APD) and generate spontaneous early after depolarizations (EADs). Using molecular, genetic, and electrophysiological techniques, we hope to delineate arrhythmia mechanisms in this model.
Clinical Interests:
Attending Cardiologist, Arrhythmia Service, St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
- Pediatric arrhythmias and conduction system disease
- Congenital and acquired pediatric cardiac disease.
Websites:
http://peds.wustl.edu/Default.aspx?alias=peds.wustl.edu/Faculty/levin_mark
Email:
levin_m@kids.wustl.edu |
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Leonid Livshitz, Ph.D.
(Ph.D., Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, 2002; Post Doctoral Research, Case Western University, Cleveland, OH 2004); Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cardiac Bioelectricity and Arrhythmia Center
Research Interests:
Dr. Livshitz's research interests focus on the mechanisms underlying arhythmmogenic effects of the calcium and calcium-dependent regulatory pathways on the onset of cardiac arrhythmias. The approach of this research is to use a combination of nonlinear dynamics, computational biology and numerical modeling. This approach allows the study of temporal and spatial interactions between calcium and electrical (action potential) subsystems in the cardiac tissue. Particularly studying how destabilization of these interactions at the subcellular and single cell levels can lead to action potential and calcium transients alternans or trigger calcium waves which are both precursors to arrhythmia.Currently research focuses on development of the computer model based on the structural organization of the cardiac cell that will integrate the electrical and calcium subsystems, as well as the PKA and CaMKII regulatory pathways. The model will be used to study the properties, mechanisms and arrhythmogenic consequences of calcium waves.
Websites:
http://research.engineering.wustl.edu/~lmlivshitz/
Email:
lmlivshitz@biomed.wustl.edu |
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Douglas L. Mann
(Temple University School of Medicine, 1979) Tobias and Hortense Lewin Professor and Chief, Cardiovascular Division, Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, Cardiologist-in-Chief, Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis
Research Interests:
Dr. Mann's primary area of research is in the molecular and cellular basis of heart failure, with a particular emphasis on the role of inflammatory mediators in disease progression in the failing heart. He has published over 180 articles and reviews in this field, is the editor for a leading textbook in heart failure: “Heart Failure, A Companion to Braunwald’s Heart Disease,” and is a newly appointed co-editor for the 8 th edition of “Braunwald’s Heart Disease.” Dr. Mann has previously served as the Deputy Editor for Chest and was an Associate Editor for Circulation. He is currently is a member of the Editorial Board of Circulation, The Journal of the American College of Cardiology,Cardiology Today, Heart and Vessels, Heart Failure Reviews, Heart Failure Monitor, Congestive Heart Failure, and the Journal of Cardiac Failure. He has received numerous awards including the Michael E. Debakey award for excellence in research, and the Alfred Soffer Award for Editorial Excellence from the American College of Chest Physicians. Dr. Mann is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of University Cardiologists, The Association of Professors of Cardiology, the Heart Failure Society of America, the International Society for Heart Failure Research, the International Cytokine Society, and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology as well as the American College of Chest Physicians.
Website:
http://cardiology.wustl.edu/details.aspx?NavID=636
Email:
dmann@dom.wustl.edu |
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Arye Nehorai, Ph.D.
(Stanford University, 1983); The Eugene and Martha Lohman Professor and Chairman; Preston M. Green Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering; Director, Center for Sensor Signal and Information Processing, Washington University
Research Interests:
Our research deals with analysis of space-time data. Typically, we obtain such data from sensors distributed in space and take temporal measurements from each of them. The goal is extract information of interest, depending on the application. The desired information is called signal, hence this area is called signal processing. Our processing is statistical, since there is noise in the measurements. However, unlike most researchers in our field, we also compute physical models for the measurements. A common example of the problems we solve is finding the positions of sources emitting energy. Such problems appear in defense, communications, biomedicine, and environmental monitoring. In defense, we develop methods for locating targets using novel sensors that provide full information in time and space. These are used in radar and sonar applications. In communications, our methods can be used to locate a 911 caller, using an array of antennas or GPS and triangulation. In biomedicine, we develop methods for locating electrical sources in the brain using arrays of electrodes (EEG) or magnetometers (MEG) placed around the head. Our solutions are important for clinical applications such as finding origins of seizures, or in neuroscience for mapping the brain functions. We are developing procedures that find the stiffness of the heart wall using MRI. We also estimate the electrical current density in the heart with ECG and MCG sensor arrays. In environmental monitoring, we introduced techniques for detecting and locating sources emitting chemical substances. We apply our methods to biochemical defense and finding land-mines. Our models can predict the space-time dispersion of a biochemical agent after it is released. In summary, our research is interdisciplinary, encompassing physical and statistical modeling, algorithm development, performance analysis, and simulations. We solve diverse problems arising in engineering and sciences.
Website:
http://ese.wustl.edu/~nehorai/
Email:
nehorai@ese.wustl.edu
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Ali Nekouzadeh, Ph.D.
(Ph.D., Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 2005); Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cardiac Bioelectricity and Arrhythmia Center, Washington University
Research Interests:
Modeling mechanical and electrical properties of tissues, cells and cell components.I am working on modeling the molecular mechanism of ion channel gating of voltage dependent channels, in particular Iks channels. I plan to continue my current study to uncover how different mutations alter the normal function of ion channels to help finding effective treatments.
Website:
http://research.engineering.wustl.edu/~ali/
Email:
ali@biomed.wustl.edu |
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Jeanne M. Nerbonne, Ph.D.
(Georgetown University, 1978); Alumni Endowed Professor of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology, Department of Developmental Biology, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
A primary focus of the research in this laboratory is to define the molecular mechanisms controlling the properties and cell surface expression of the voltage-gated K+ (Kv) channels that underlie action potential repolarization in normal and diseased heart. Investigators in this laboratory use a sophisticated combination of biochemical, electrophysiological, and molecular techniques to define the molecular correlates of myocardial Kv channels. Transgenic and targeted deletion strategies are used to define the Kv pore-forming and accessory (b) subunits that underlie the various repolarizing Kv currents in (mouse) ventricular and atrial myocytes. These approaches, which allow one to manipulate functional Kv channel expression in vivo, are also being used to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying electrical remodeling in the hypertrophied (mouse) myocardium. Other investigators in this laboratory are exploring the properties of the Kv channels expressed in different neuronal cell types, the roles of different types of Kv channels in mediating neuronal firing properties and the molecular basis of functional neuronal Kv channel diversity. Trainees in this laboratory can opt to pursue an independent project in any of these areas or can choose to work on human tissue in studies aimed at exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying remodeling in the damaged/diseased myocardium.
Website:
http://molecool.wustl.edu/nerbonnelab/1home.html
Email:
jnerbonn@wustl.edu |
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Colin G. Nichols, Ph.D.
(Leeds University, 1985); Carl Cori Professor, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
My research group is focused on the molecular and cellular regulation of potassium channels, and their role in linking cellular metabolism to electrical activity in cardiac and other tissues. We have developed a detailed biophysical understanding of inwardly rectifying channels and the structural basis of channel activity, as well as clinically relevant understanding of the mechanistic basis of inherited potassium channel diseases. Our latest efforts are directed towards a more complete understanding of the molecular basis, the physiological role, and clinical relevance, of potassium channel activity, using combinations of biochemical, genetic, physiological and biophysical approaches.
Website:
http://neuroscience.wustl.edu/research/index.php?page=alpha#69
Email:
cnichols@cellbio.wustl.edu |
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Joseph A. O’Sullivan, Ph.D.
(University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 1986); The Samuel C. Sachs Professor of Electrical Engineering; Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering; Director of Electronic Systems and Signals Research Laboratory; Associate Director of Center for Security Technologies
Research Interests:
Information theory, estimation theory, and imaging science, with applications in object recognition, tomographic imaging, magnetic recording, radar, and formal languages.
Websites:
http://www.essrl.wustl.edu/~jao/
Electronic Systems and Signals Research Laboratory: http://www.essrl.wustl.edu/
Center for Security Technologies webpage: http://www.cst.wustl.edu/
Email:
MFaddis@wustl.edu |
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Daniel S. Ory, M.D.
(Harvard Medical School, 1986);Professor of Medicine, Cell Biology and Physiology, Co-Director, BioMed21 Diabetic Cardiovascular Disease Center, Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease is a major diabetes complication. Work in my laboratory focuses on identification and characterization of genes that function in the uptake, intracellular transport, and export of lipoprotein-derived cholesterol, and on gene programs that regulate cellular cholesterol balance. The goal of our research is to shed light on the molecular mechanisms involved in atherosclerotic lesion formation, and to identify biomarkers for early detection of vascular disease in diabetes.
Website:
http://drtc.im.wustl.edu/members/ory_daniel.htm
Email:
dory@wustl.edu |
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Jean E. Schaffer, M.D.
(Harvard Medical School, 1986); Virginia Minnich Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Director, Diabetic Cardiovascular Disease Center and Diabetes Research Training Center, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
While fatty acids are critical for many cellular functions, accumulation of excess fatty acids in non-adipose tissues leads to cell dysfunction and/or cell death. This lipotoxicity plays an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetes and heart failure. We are using genetic approaches to identify molecules that are important for channeling imported long chain fatty acids to specific cell fates, and to identify lipid metabolic and signaling pathways critical for fatty acid-induced apoptosis. Specifically, we have used a promoter trapping strategy to isolate mutant cell lines resistant to fatty acid-induced apoptosis. We are presently characterizing the disrupted gene that confers resistance in each mutant. We have also created transgenic mouse lines with tissue-restricted overexpression of proteins that facilitate fatty acid transport to understand the physiology of lipotoxicity. Our studies may provide insight to the pathogenesis of human disorders such as obesity, diabetes, and heart failure, in which fatty acid homeostasis is perturbed.
Website:
http://ccr.im.wustl.edu/faculty/JESchaffer/Schaffer.htm
Email:
jschaff@wustl.edu |
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Richard B. Schuessler, Ph.D.
(Clemson University, 1977);Research Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering; Director, Cardiothoracic Surgery Research Laboratory, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
Surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation; Mechanisms of atrial fibrillation; Inflammatory mechanisms in postoperative atrial fibrillation; Basic cardiac electrophysiology; Normal and abnormal sinus node electrophysiology; Mapping of cardiac electrophysiology; Animal models of cardiac arrhythmias.
Website:
http://www.gsres.wustl.edu/Residency/Cardio.asp
Email:
schuesslerr@wustl.edu |
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Jingyi Shi, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
biophysics, molecular biology, ion channels in physiology and disease, channel structure-function relationship, ultrasound-mediated drug and gene delivery; Ion channels are the molecular units of electrical activity in all cell types. Bioelectricity is generated and modulated as different types of channels open and close in response to various stimuli, such as the binding of a neurotransmitter from outside the cell, a second messenger from inside the cell, or a change in the voltage across the membrane. The Cui lab research interests focus on the mechanisms underlying conformational changes that occur as the channels open and close and on the interaction of ion channels with other molecules during cellular electrical activity. The approach in our research is to use a combination of molecular biology, protein biochemistry, patch clamp techniques, and biophysical analysis and kinetic modeling. This approach allows us to manipulate channel protein structure, estimate the number of distinct conformational states of the channel protein, and determine the energy associated with the transitions among these states. Current projects involve two potassium channels: 1) The BK type calcium-activated potassium channels, which are important in, among other physiological processes, the control of blood vessel diameter and neurotransmitter release. They are implicated in hypertension and epilepsy; 2) The IKs potassium channels that play a key role in the rhythmic control of the heart rate. Defects in the channel protein have been shown to cause severe inherited cardiac arrhythmias that often lead to syncope and sudden death.
Website:
http://biomed.wustl.edu
Email:
jshi@biomed.wustl.edu |
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Jennifer N. A. Silva, M.D.
(St. George’s University School of Medicine, 2002) Instructor in Pediatrics, Director of Pediatric Electrophysiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Division of Pediatric Cardiology
Clinical Interests:
- Clinical Electrophysiology/Arrhythmias
- Inherited Channelopathies
- Transcatheter ablations
- Pacemakers/Defibrillators
- Heart Failure and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
- Sudden Cardiac Death
Research Interests:
- Clinical Applications of Noninvasive Electrocardiographic Imaging (ECGI)
In working with Dr. Yoram Rudy, Dr. Silva has applied ECGI to pediatric patients to create 3-dimensional epicardial electroanatomical maps, focusing on pediatric heart failure patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy. By better understanding a patients’ electrophysiologic substrate prior to this proceudre, they hope to improve patient selection and outcomes in this population.
- Pediatric Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
Website: http://peds.wustl.edu/Faculty/Silva_J
Email: silva_j@kids.wustl.edu |
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Gautam K. Singh, M.D., M.R.C.P.
(M.D., Patna Medical College, India, 1982; M.R.C.P., Royal College of Physicians, London, U.K., 1988); Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Director, Imaging Research, Co-Director, Echocardiography Laboratory, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
Cardiac mechanics in congenital heat disease particulary with single ventricular physiology by non-invasive cardiac imaging; non-invasive cardiac tissue characterization and cardiac kinematic in fetuses and children affected by cardiac disease, metabolic abnormalities and obesity; tissue characterization and cardiac mechanics in developing fetus in animal model.
Clinical Interests:
Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of congenital heart disease, preventive pediatric cardiology, fetal cardiology, non-invasive cardiac imaging.
Website:
http://www.stlouischildrens.org/content/mediaprofilesingh.htm#
Email:
singh_g@wustl.edu |
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Timothy W. Smith, D.Phil., M.D.
(D.Phil.; University of Oxford, 1989; M.D.; Duke University, 1993); Associate Professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
1) My clinical research interests span all areas of clinical arrhythmia, including ways to optimize diagnosis and therapy of both bradyarrhythmias and tachyarrhythmias. This includes the use of implantable device therapy (pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators) and implantable ECG monitors, as well as catheter techniques for mapping and ablation.
2) My basic science interest concerns the cellular mechanisms of arrhythmias, specifically the role of membrane ion transport systems (ion channels and active transporters). Calcium homeostasis (or failure to maintain homeostasis) is often implicated in arrhythmogenesis, but myocyte calcium transport and sequestration is a complicated interaction of multiple mechanisms. Further understanding may help assess the possibility of improved pharmacologic arrhythmia control.
Clinical Interests:
My clinical interests encompass all aspects of care of the arrhythmia patient. I perform diagnostic electrophysiology studies, catheter ablation, and pacemaker and cardioverter-defibrillator implants. I attend on the clinical arrhythmia consultation service and on the cardiology inpatient service. In the ambulatory clinic I participate in follow-up and evaluation of patients with pacemakers and defibrillators. I evaluate and treat ambulatory patients for the gamut of arrhythmia problems, including atrial fibrillation, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardias, ventricular arrhythmias, bradycardia, risk assessment for sudden death, syncope (fainting), and palpitations.
Website:
http://cardiology.wustl.edu/faculty/smitht.html
Email:
tsmith@wustl.edu |
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Jason W. Trobaugh, D.Sc.
(Washington University in St. Louis 2000); Lecturer, Electrical and Systems Engineering, Washington University
Research Interests:
Ultrasonic imaging, stochastic image models, and image analysis; medical image registration; temperature imaging with ultrasound; inverse ECG for detection of arrhythmia risk.
Website:
http://ee.wustl.edu/~jasont/
Email:
jasont@ese.wustl.edu |
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George Van Hare, III, MD
Director of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Louis Larrick Ward Chair in Pediatric Cardiology at St. Louis Children's Hospital
Research Interests:
He recently relocated to St. Louis from San Francisco, where he was a professor of pediatrics and medical director of the Pediatric Arrhythmia Center at Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Prior to that, he was director of the pediatric arrhythmia service at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland and an associate professor of pediatrics and of medicine at Case Western Reserve University. He has a long-standing interest in irregular heart rhythms that can occur in infants and children following surgery for congenital heart diseases. He is particularly interested in applying new technology to characterize, map and successfully treat these arrhythmias in the electrophysiology laboratory. He also has extensive experience in organizing and leading multi-center studies of children with heart rhythm disorders. He served as principal investigator of a five-year, $2.1 million National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute study titled "Prospective Assessment after Pediatric Cardiac Ablation," which involved more than 40 pediatric centers in North America.
Website:
http:/peds.wustl.edu/Faculty/Vanhare_G/
Email:
vanhare@kids.wustl.edu |
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Lihong Wang, Ph.D.
(Rice university, 1992); Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering; Director, Optical Imaging Laboratory Washington University
Research Interests:
Dr. Lihong Wang's group focuses on the research on non-ionizing biophotonic imaging. His group has made seminal contributions to ultrasound-modulated optical tomography, photoacoustic tomography, thermoacoustic tomography, modeling of light transport in biological tissue, and polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography. In paticular, his laboratory invented frequency-swept ultrasound-modulated optical tomography, dark-field confocal photoacoustic microscopy, exact reconstruction algorithms for thermoacoustic tomography, Mueller-matrix optical coherence tomography, and spectroscopic oblique-incidence reflectometry. His Monte Carlo model of photon transport in scattering media has been used worldwide.
Websites:
http://oilab.seas.wustl.edu
Email:
lhwang@biomed.wustl.edu |
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Samuel A. Wickline, M.D.
(University of Hawaii School of Medicine, 1980); Professor of Medicine; Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Cell Biology and Physiology; Director Washington University Consortium for Translational Research in Advanced Imaging and Nanomedicine (C-TRAIN); Director, Siteman Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, Executive Faculty, Institue of Biological and Medical Engineering, Co-Director of Cardiovascular Engineering Graduate Training Program, Biomedical Engineering, Washington University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
The next generation of pharmaceutical agents will be targeted against specific molecular pathways and/or locales within the body. Our laboratory is engaged in a multidisciplinary effort (physics, engineering, chemistry, cell physiology, pharmacology) to develop systemically deliverable ligand-targeted nanoparticles for noninvasive in vivo image-based detection of picomolar quantities of pathological epitopes that are the sources of cancer and cardiovascular disease. We also have devised strategies for delivering drugs or genes to those sites with the use of these targeted nanoparticle carriers. We have invented 150-250 nm perfluorocarbon emulsions that can incorporate various classes of ligands (e.g., antibodies, small molecules) and selected drugs active against cancer and atherosclerosis and thrombosis. These particles also can be imaged in vivo with MRI, nuclear, CT, or ultrasound methods based on incorporation of payloads of gadolinium chelates, radionuclides, iodinated compounds, or perfluorocarbon content, respectively. We developed the tools for sensitive imaging and quantification of picomolar levels of molecular epitopes such as fibrin in silent unstable plaque, tissue factor induction in vascular smooth muscle cells after vascular injury that leads to restenosis, and angiogenesis in early cancer and atherosclerosis by targeting vascular avb3 integrins in experimental cancer and after cholesterol feeding in animals. We also have incorporated drugs such as doxorubicin, taxol, and fumagillan that can be delivered selectively to individual cells of choice through a patent-pending process of "contact facilitated drug delivery" which are proving to dramatically enhance tumor lysis and plaque regression. These methods set the stage for the next generation of imaging agents capable of multispectral in vivo immunocytochemistry and targeted drug/gene delivery with direct assessment of the doses delivered to the specified cells at a highly localized anatomic site.
Websites:
http://cardiology.wustl.edu/details.aspx?NavID=599
Email:
saw@wuphys.wustl.edu |
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Pamela K. Woodard, M.D.
(Duke University School of Medicine, 1990); Professor, Diagnostic Radiology, Cardiovascular Imaging Laboratory, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests:
Dr. Woodard's expertise is in cardiovascular MR and CT imaging. Her research includes coronary MR angiography with novel MR contrast agents, multi-detector coronary CT angiography, assessment of cardiac perfusion and viability using contrast-enhanced and BOLD MR techniques, and MR assessment of carotid atherosclerotic plaque. She is PI at Washington University on an R01-entitled "MRI-Based Computational Modeling for Carotid Plaque Rupture and Stroke" (NIBIB), in collaboration with Dalin Tang, Ph.D. (PI), at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and is principal investigator at Washington University on a multi-center R01 entitled, "Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis-II" (NHLBI), a grant designed to assess the utility of the multidetector contrast enhanced spiral CT for the assessment of pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis. Dr. Woodard is also principal investigator on numerous FDA phase II and III trials and is a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry.
Website:
http://www.cvil.wustl.edu/Staff/Woodard/index.html
Email:
woodardp@mir.wustl.edu |
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Kathryn A. Yamada, Ph.D., F.A.H.A.
(Georgetown University, 1982); Research Professor of Medicine; Director, Mouse Cardiovascular Phenotyping Core, Center for Cardiovascular Research, Washinton University School of Medicine
Research Interests:
Mechanisms of arrhythmogenesis in the diseased heart; Cardiac connexin biology with emphasis on the role of connexin45 in normal and diseased hearts; Electrical remodeling induced by heart failure and myocardial infarction; Cardiac electrophysiology of transgenic mice expressing mutant or deficient gap junction and/or ion channel proteins.
Website:
http://cardiology.wustl.edu/details.aspx?NavID=601
Email:
kyamada@wustl.edu |
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CBAC Faculty Alumni:
- Amir A. Amini, Ph.D.
- Kyongtae T. Bae , M.D., Ph.D.
- John P. Boineau, M.D.
- Michael Cain, M.D.
- Jonas A. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H.
- Vadim V. Fedorov, Ph.D.
- Daniel P. Kelly, M.D.
- Bruce Lindsay, Ph.D.
- Achi Ludomirsky, M.D.
- Tony J. Muslin, M.D., F.A.H.A.
- Vladimir P. Nikolski, Ph.D.
- Edward Rhee, Ph.D.
- Jeffrey E. Saffitz , M.D., Ph.D.
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