Robbins Lab Research
Structure and Function of the Heart
Our lab in the Heart Institute’s Division of Molecular Cardiovascular Biology has established the means to direct the heart to synthesize normal and mutant proteins in a cardiomyocyte-specific manner. We can turn these on and off at will, allowing us to establish cause-and-effect relationships for normal proteins as well as for those that cause cardiovascular disease.
To understand these relationships, and to establish models in which the pathogenic processes can be studied longitudinally, we have created genetically modified mice and rabbits that synthesize the mutant proteins. Subsequently, we can determine whether the protein’s presence causes the effects directly or indirectly.
The goal is to define potential therapeutic targets. Recognizing the utility of these reagents, the scientific community has made good use of them, and over the last decade, we have distributed them freely to more than1,000 laboratories around the world.
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We are currently conducting research in these areas:
• Structure function relationships for the contractile proteins
• Cardiac disease: Alzheimer’s of the heart?
• Discovery: Application of high-throughput screening techniques for defining new candidates in cardiac disease
