
Rockman Lab: Molecular Mechanisms of Hypertrophy and Heart Failure
Overall Research Direction: The major focus of this laboratory is to understand the molecular mechanisms of hypertrophy and heart failure. My laboratory uses a strategy that combines state of the art molecular techniques to generate transgenic and gene targeted mouse models, combined with sophisticated physiologic measures of in vivo cardiac function. In this manner, candidate molecules are either selectively overexpressed in the mouse heart or genes ablated followed by an in-depth analysis of the physiological phenotype. To model human cardiac disease, we have created several models of cardiac overload in the mouse using both microsurgical techniques and genetic models of cardiac dysfunction.
Areas of Research
1) Signaling: G protein-coupled receptor signaling in hypertrophy and heart failure focusing on the concept of biased signaling of 7 transmembrane receptors.
2) Molecular physiology: In depth physiological analysis of cardiac function in genetically altered mice to understand the role of G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathways on the development of heart failure in vivo.
Education and Training
- Cardiology Fellow, Medicine, University of California - San Diego, 1987 - 1991
- Medical Resident, Medicine, Montreal General Hospital (Canada), 1984 - 1987
- M.D., McGill University (Canada), 1983
Grants
- Targeting Wnt-signaling to prevent sudden death in pediatric arrhythmic cardiomyopathyTBD
- Mechanisms of Maladaptation in Heart Failure
- Duke CTSA (TL1)
- The Branched Chain Ketoacid Dehydrogenase Kinase-Phosphatase System as a New Regulatory Node in Myocardial Fuel Section
- Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health
- Duke Resident Physician-Scientist Program- NHLBI
- Mechanistic studies of Mas receptor activation and its role in aortic aneurysm formation
- Duke Training Grant in Nephrology
- The Role of Junctophilin Type 2 in Cardiac Node Automaticity
- Copper Homeostasis in Mammals
- Interdisciplinary Training Program in Lung Disease
- Novel Mechanisms and Therapies in Heart Failure
- Probing the Role of Mitochondrial Short-Chain Carbon Homeostasis in the Hypertrophied and Failing Heart
- Multidisciplinary Heart and Vascular Diseases
- Determining the role of PRDM16 in rapidly progressive pediatric cardiomyopathy