The research in my
laboratory focuses on how changes in signal transmission from the outside
to the inside of myocardial cells affect cellular growth and contractile
function and how they contribute to the development of heart disease. We
conduct our investigations in isolated heart cells in vitro and in mice
in vivo. For more than two decades, cell culture-based in vitro systems
have given important insights into the signaling capacity and function of
many cells types, including the two main cell types in the heart (i.e.,
myocyte and fibroblasts). However, a major limitation of traditional
culture techniques is that the cells are exposed to a very different
environment than in their native tissue context. For example, they lack
proper cell-cell contact with each other and other cell types and are also
not properly aligned. In this project, microfabrication techniques that
allow for more controlled spatial organization and cell-cell contact will
be utilized to study myocyte and fibroblast behavior in response to stress
signals that can lead to the development of cardiac disease. Collaborators
at Brown provide the necessary expertise in microfabrication.
