Electro-Biology and Arrhythmia Therapeutics Laboratory
The mission of the Akar Electro-Biology and Arrhythmia Therapeutics Laboratory at the Yale School of Medicine is to uncover the mechanisms underlying sudden cardiac death across a variety of clinically relevant structural heart diseases. We use integrative tools that allow us to undertake a systems biology approach to the investigation of arrhythmia mechanisms and to test novel treatment strategies. Specific areas of active research include mechanisms of mechano-electrical feedback, the interaction of myocardial bioenergetics and electrical function in post-ischemic remodeling and reperfusion related arrhythmias, and the role of altered gene expression and targeted gene delivery on ion channel function and arrhythmogenesis in cardiovascular diseases.
Our long-term research goals are to:
- Elucidate mechanistic links between altered metabolic, mechanical, electrical, and structural properties that promote disease progression and regression.
- Identify novel targets for treating electrical dysfunction. We specialize in the study of arrhythmia mechanisms at multiple levels of integration.
A major focus of our work is the use of novel gene therapy approaches targeting metabolic pathways or calcium cycling proteins for combating arrhythmias caused by ischemia/reperfusion injury and heart failure.