My research focuses on understanding how intracellular calcium levels are controlled in cardiac muscle as this directly controls the strength of cardiac contractions.
Calcium homeostasis is regulated by several distinct mechanisms in cardiac cells.
The operation and modulation of individual calcium transport proteins are under investigation. The object is to understand the function of the individual components as they pertain to integrated cardiac function. For each individual contraction, an initial electrical event is translated into a subsequent mechanical event. The coupling of these events and potential means of modulating this relationship are being investigated using electrophysiological and mechanical techniques. A major emphasis to determine which systems fail to maintain calcium homeostasis and thus contribute to irreversible myocardial cell injury.