Comparative analysis of cardiac development and regeneration gene regulatory networks in the zebrafish

Heart disease bears a heavy burden on the health care system. Curative approaches are extremely limited and surgery is often the best course of treatment. Heart disease encompasses a variety of disorders, but among these, myocardial infarction (MI), or a heart attack, presents an especially difficult case for treatment. MI is caused by destruction of cardiac muscle due to oxygen deprivation in the heart and results in scarring. This new tissue does not contract and results in weakened heart function which, over time, contributes to heart failure. The extremely limited ability of the mammalian heart to regenerate contributes to the high mortality and morbidity associated with MI. Unlike mammals, other animals, such as the zebrafish, can regenerate their heart following damage. As such, dissecting the mechanisms involved in cardiac regeneration in the zebrafish can contribute to cell-based therapies for heart failure in human. I would like to combine our current understanding of the regulatory networks involved in development, which is the focus of my thesis project, to investigate the networks involved in regeneration. The expected outcome of this project would be the identification of genes that are required in both cardiac development and cardiomyocyte regeneration.

Faculty Supervisor:

Ian Scott

Student:

Partner:

National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Biotechnology; Health and Related Sciences & Technology

University:

University of Toronto

Program: