Stem Cell Cardiomyocytes

We work with clinicians and scientific collaborators to obtain cells (blood, skin, urine) from patients with genetic mutations in cardiac and skeletal muscle proteins that cause diseases such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), Deuchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Distal Arthrogryposis.  These cells are converted to stem cells and then turned into heart and skeletal muscle cells using state of the art molecular biology approaches.  Alternatively, we use gene-editing techniques to introduce de novo mutations like those found in diseases into wild type (non-affected) stem cells.  Muscle cells derived from these stem cell sources are used to study the initiation and development of disease and to develop new therapeutic approaches to treat  disease.

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