Rhythm Keepers
Goals
Every heartbeat depends on a burst of calcium being released and taken back up into the internal stores of each heart muscle cell. When this process goes wrong, for example, when calcium leaks out of internal stores at the wrong time, it can trigger dangerous irregular heartbeats (arrhythmias) and contribute to heart failure. Rhythm Keepers studies the cellular machinery that controls calcium in the heart, including the ryanodine receptor (RyR2), mitochondria, and the endoplasmic/sarcoplasmic reticulum. We want to understand how stress, energy metabolism and cardiovascular disease disrupt this machinery. Our goal is to find new ways to protect the heart's rhythm in conditions such as heart failure, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and muscular dystrophy.
Issues Involved or Addressed
- What causes calcium to leak inside heart cells, and how does that leak trigger arrhythmias?
- How do mitochondria and oxidative stress interact with calcium handling in the heart?
- How do inherited diseases of heart and skeletal muscle change the way cells manage calcium?
- Can we identify new targets for treating arrhythmia and heart failure?
Methods and Tech
- Isolating heart muscle cells
- Confocal and fluorescence microscopy
- Measuring mitochondrial function and reactive oxygen species (ROS)
- Protein biochemistry (western blotting, protein interaction assays)
- Image and data analysis (e.g., ImageJ/Fiji, Python, statistics)
Academic Majors of Interest
Open to all majors, but majors of particular interest listed here:
- Physiology and Medical Sciences
- Molecular and Cellular Biology
- Biochemistry
- Biomedical Engineering
- Neuroscience
- Chemistry
- Data Science
- Related Fields
Preferred Interests and Preparation
- Curiosity about how the heart works and why it fails.
- Interest in biomedical research or pre-health careers.
- Attention to detail and patience with hands-on lab work.
- Strong work ethic, reliability and a willingness to learn as part of a team.
- No prior research experience required.
Application Process
To express interest in this team, please complete the VIP Interest Form and select "Rhythm Keepers."
This team:
- Accepts students at the start of each semester
- Recruits students for both credit and pay options (as available, including federal work-study) for VIP participation