Developing novel biomarkers for diabetic heart failure

Research Opportunity
PhD students, Master of Biomedical Science
Number of Master Places Available
1
Primary Supervisor Email Number Webpage
Dr Lea Delbridge lmd@unimelb.edu.au
Co-supervisor Email Number Webpage
Dr Kimberley Mellor

Summary The Cardiac Phenomics Laboratory research is about understanding how the heart response to stress can be managed to minimize the damaging impacts of a variety of disease conditions. We investigate responses of the working ‘pumping’ heart, of specialized muscle tissues and cells from different regions of the heart and of molecular signaling processes. As our name suggests, we look at how the cardiac ‘genome’ (the genetically defined heart) is translated in different stressor situations to create the ‘phenome’ (the structurally and functionally defined heart).

Project Details

The Cardiac Phenomics Laboratory research is about understanding how the heart response to stress can be managed to minimize the damaging impacts of a variety of disease conditions. We investigate responses of the working ‘pumping’ heart, of specialized muscle tissues and cells from different regions of the heart and of molecular signaling processes.  As our name suggests, we look at how the cardiac ‘genome’ (the genetically defined heart) is translated in different stressor situations to create the ‘phenome’ (the structurally and functionally defined heart). 
Our pre-clinical work focuses on cardiac pathology arising from Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and on the factors which determine how female and male hearts respond differently to stress and disease challenges. 
These areas of heart health are of critical significance in shaping the demographics of cardiovascular disease.  We use experimental models to mimic human disease conditions, and we look for links between the performance of single muscle cells and the functioning heart. Our goals are to inform the development of new treatments for diabetic cardiomyopathy and to understand how for women and men, cardiac ‘difference’ may be managed with optimized therapeutic tools.
Student projects in the Cardiac Phenomics lab could incorporate a range of methodologies including animal dietary and pharmacologic treatments, instrumented working heart preparations, immunohistochemistry, cell culture and adenoviral expression manipulation, cell kinetic imaging, biochemical assay, confocal microscopy, microarray gene profiling, realtime PCR, and western blot techniques. Projects are particularly suitable for MSc students, as there is scope for progression to publication within the degree time frame and research work is supported by complementary skills development coursework.


Research Opportunities

PhD students, Master of Biomedical Science
Students who are interested in joining this project will need to consider their elegibility as well as other requirements before contacting the supervisor of this research

Graduate Research application

Honours application

Key Contact

For further information about this research, please contact a supervisor.

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