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:

1. Elucidate mechanistic links between altered metabolic, mechanical, electrical, and structural properties that promote disease progression and regression.
2. 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.