Projects
Neutrophil extracellular traps in cardiac fibrosis - Peptidylarginine deiminase 4 and neutrophil extracellular traps in chronic inflammation and cardiac fibrosis KU Leuven
Heart failure is a broad term encompassing a multitude of clinical symptoms and signs. A finer distinction is currently being made, subdividing this one term into different subtypes based on the remaining systolic function of the patient. On a global scale, HF is estimated to affect approximately 64 million people, making it a pandemic problem. Although the pathology is long recognized, and the subject of extensive research over the last ...
Preclinical and multiparametric cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for the anatomical, functional and molecular assessment of cardiac remodeling KU Leuven
The PhD project will focus on the development and testing of new cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) methods in rodents. We propose a complex MRI protocol enabling the full characterization of the heart function under physiological and patho-physiological conditions in rodents. Cardiac MRI has the versatility to quantify the global cardiac function (EDV, ESV, EF, cardiac output, myocardial thickening), local function such as ...
Human Stem Cell-Derived Cardiac Models to Investigate Cell-Cell Interactions in Epicardial Activation and Cardiac Remodeling KU Leuven
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most prevalent hereditary muscular dystrophy worldwide. The disease progressively affects striated muscles through the substitution of cardiomyocytes with fibrotic tissue, eventually leading to loss of ambulation, and to the development of cardiac events which account for most deaths in late-stage disease. The epicardium is a mesothelial tissue surrounding the vertebrate heart which constitutes a ...
A discrete multiscale biophysical model of cardiac tissue and its application to study cardiac arrhythmias due to tissue anisotropy. Ghent University
Cardiac arrhythmias is a major cause of death in the industrialised world. They occur due to abnormal wave propagation. The most important factor affecting wave propagation is anisotropy of cardiac tissue. We will perform a combined in silico (at UGent) and experimental (at MIPT) study to reveal underlying biophysical mechanisms of the anisotropy and its effects on onset of arrhythmias.
MUltiSectoral Integrative approaches to CArdiac care - MUSICARE / Image based patient specific cardiac modeling Ghent University
MUltiSectoral Integrative approaches to CArdiac care – MUSICA - is proposed by a team of universities, companies and hospitals from 4 EU countries (Italy, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Belgium). The main scope of MUSICA is to structure a new trans-sect
High-resolution three-dimensional electroanatomical cardiac mapping: a new era in diagnosis and treatment of canine arrhythmias with minimal radiation exposure Ghent University
Structural heart disease affects 10% of all dogs and commonly causes heart rhythm disturbances. These arrhythmias can also occur without underlying heart disease as primary electrical disorder. In dogs referred for cardiological investigation prevalence of arrhythmias is almost 40%, adding up to potentially 52600 dogs in Belgium at risk to suffer from sudden cardiac death or the consequences of heart failure. In humans, diagnosis and ...
Differential expression and secretion of microRNAs by specific cardiac fibroblast phenotypes KU Leuven
The heart is composed of many cells types, out of which cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts form the majority. Cardiac myocytes are the muscle cells, which are responsible for the rhythmic beating of the heart. Fibroblasts produce proteins which maintain the architecture of the heart. However, after heart attack whereby muscle cells are lost (infarction), fibroblasts modify themselves to become myofibroblasts. These cells produce collagen that ...
Next generation phenotyping and genotyping in inherited primary cardiac arrhythmia syndromes and cardiomyopathies KU Leuven
The relation between the genotype and phenotype of primary arrhythmia syndromes (PAS) and cardiomyopathies (CMP) is complex and ever expanding. In the first part of this thesis project, we evaluated the value of both novel and existing electrocardiographic parameters in the diagnosis and prognosis of these patients. We proposed a novel method for evaluation of the QT interval based on the patient’s own QT rate dependence profile obtained from ...
Tissue and cell specific distribution of 5-HT4 receptor splice variants and functional implication for gastrointestinal and cardiac effects of 5-HT4 receptor agonists Ghent University
The tissue and cell specific distribution of 5-HT4 receptor splice varianten wordt onderzocht in de gastro-intestinale tractus en het hart door het merken van bepaalde celtypes met antilichamen en RT-PCT voor de splice varianten op het geëxtraheerde RNA. De functionele weerslag wordt onderzocht door het effect en transductiemechanisme van verschillende 5-HT4 receptor agonisten te vergelijken in gastro-itnestinale en cardiale ...