Phenomena or Process: Cardiovascular Biology

Related Disease
Aging, Aging-Related Diseases, Atrial Fibrillation, Cardiac Fibrosis, Cardiomyopathies, Heart Disease, Metabolic Syndrome, Molecular Biology

Phenomena or Processes
Actin Cytoskeleton, Calcium Signaling, Cardiovascular Biology, Cell Signaling, Extracellular Matrix, Fuel Metabolism, Integrins, Metabolic Networks, Phosphorylation, Stress Response Pathways

Anatomical Systems and Sites
Cardiovascular System, Heart

Research Models
Drosophila, Larval Zebrafish Heart, Zebrafish

Techniques and Technologies
Biophysiology, Cellular and Molecular Imaging, Fluorescence Microscopy, Gene Silencing, Genetics, In vivo Modeling, Ion Channels, Live Imaging, Microarrays, Microscopy and Imaging, Molecular Genetics, RNA Interference (RNAi), Semi-automated Optical Heartbeat Analysis (SOHA), Systems Biology, Transgenic Organisms

The Ocorr Lab is investigating the cellular and molecular basis of adult heart function and cardiomyopathies using the genetic model system Drosophila.

We use functional, electrophysiological, biochemical and immunohistochemical techniques that allow us to examine the roles of genes and gene products in cardiac channelopathies and stress-related cardiomyopathies.

Our lab pioneered the development of a novel methodology (Semi-automatic Optical Heartbeat Analysis, SOHA) that permits the quantification of heartbeat parameters in model systems with small hearts.

Using this system we have identified several ion channels in the fly heart that play prominent roles in repolarization of the human heart and cause arrhythmia in both the fly and in humans when mutated. We also have developed a number of other disease models including a diabetic-like cardiomyopathy induced by high sugar diet and hypoxia-induced cardiomyopathy.

Recently we have begun collaborations with NASA (by winning a Space Florida International Space Station Research Competition). We are using the fly to uncover the molecular/cellular basis for cardiac and muscle atrophy in astronauts exposed to extended periods of microgravity despite extensive exercise regimes aboard the ISS. Our flies were launched aboard SpaceX 3 for a month-long exposure to micro-gravity.

Karen Ocorr’s Research Report

My lab is working to understand the cellular and molecular basis of heart disease. One project is focused on the genetic basis of Atrial Fibrillation. This project is a collaborative one with the lab of Alexandre Colas. We are combining two model systems, the fly in my lab and human induced cardiomyocytes in his lab, to identify AFib genes that have been implicated from patient studies. Another project focuses on the role of metabolism in cardiomyopathies. This is because obesity and metabolic syndrome are linked to an increased risk of heart disease. We are studying the role of a key metabolic signaling molecule in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A separate effort is focused on the role of gravity in heart function. These studies will provide important information for future habitants of colonies on the moon and Mars. But they are also relevant to patients who are bedridden and to patients with muscle wasting (sarcopenia).