Harvard Catalyst Profiles

My research laboratory studies the development of new approaches to cardiovascular diseases by applying fundamentals of molecular biology. The central theme of our laboratory is that merging rigorous molecular biology approaches can yield new approaches to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Thus, we work at this interface using techniques in genomics, imaging, physiology, cell biology, and molecular biology. Projects in the laboratory range from stem cell biology, aging, diabetes, and molecular aspects of proteins that participate in diabetes and cardiovascular pathophysiology. For over 9 years, I was Director of the Brigham and Women's Hospital Noninvasive Cardiac Laboratory, where I supervised the training of over 100 clinical and research fellows in echocardiography. I resigned from this position in January, 1999 in order to open my research laboratory, but I maintain an active role in clinical practice and teaching. I have had an outpatient cardiology practice and attend on the inpatient cardiology service at Brigham and Women’s Hospital twice per year. I also teach physical diagnosis to Harvard medical students while volunteering to see patients in a Boston homeless shelter. I enjoy my role as a mentor for both graduate students, research fellows and physician scientists who wish to pursue questions at the interface of molecular biology and molecular medicine. I hope that one of my projects leads to a therapy for patients, but I would be just as happy if one of my students or trainees accomplishes this because they were excited about how science can benefit medicine.