Understanding cell signalling & metabolism in heart failure

The goal of the Cardiac Signalling & Metabolism group is to identify novel drug targets for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases, by investigating molecular mechanisms that contribute to cardiac growth, remodelling and dysfunction in experimental models of heart failure, diabetes and chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.

A key focus of our research is how protein phosphatases regulate cardiac physiology and pathophysiology. When they were first discovered, phosphatases were thought to be mere housekeeper enzymes with promiscuous catalytic activity, and were therefore considered poor drug targets. Accumulating evidence suggests that phosphatases are, in fact, highly regulated with exquisite specificity for substrates, which opens up new avenues for drug discovery and development.

We use genetically modified mouse models, dietary and surgical interventions, in vivo and ex vivo techniques to assess cardiac and cardiomyocyte function, cell culture models, microscopy, molecular biology and omics technologies to investigate the role of key phosphatase species in the heart and their potential as therapeutic targets for heart disease.