The right ventricle: you're only as strong as your weakest pump
The heart is a 4-chambered organ with two sides- the left heart which pumps to the periphery and the right heart which pumps to the lungs. Cardiac function is limited by the performance of its weakest ventricle, meaning that even in contexts of healthy left ventricular (LV) function, right ventricular (RV) dysfunction can still be detrimental. In the setting of many human diseases and durin healthy aging, RV function predicts survival. Our group is interested in understanding how the right heart fails and identifying therapeutic targets for the RV.
Exercise as medicine
Regular endurance exercise is the best protection against development of cardiovascular disease. However, the precise molecular mechanisms for how exercise is so potently cardioprotective are not fully understood. Our group aims to understand how exercise improves cardiac function in the healthy, aging, and failing heart.
Heart failure across the life-course
Heart failure impacts patients of all ages- from pediatrics to geriatrics. The risk factors, disease development, and treatment outcomes differ by patient age and sex, suggesting that important differences exist that might impact therapeutic strategies. We aim to understand how age and sex impact disease development, and use these differences to develop personalized medicine for heart failure patients of all ages.
The heart as a regulator of circadian rhythms
Most biological processes are controlled by a molecular clock. Cardiac disease occurs when this clock is disrupted. We aim to understand circadian rhythms in the heart and how they're important for overall health.
High altitude physiology
The HEART Lab is located at 7,200' above sea level- a moderate but significant hypoxic stress. Ascent to and/or residence at this elevation changes cardiopulmonary and metabolic physiology. We're trying to understand what these changes are and how they occur.