Understanding the molecular origins of cardiomyopathy using a single molecule imaging approach
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an inherited heart muscle disease. If you have the condition, the muscular wall of your heart becomes thickened, making the heart muscle stiff. This thickening makes it harder for your heart to pump blood out of your heart and around your body. It is a devastating condition that can lead to sudden death, especially in young people. Further research is needed to understand the underlying causes in order to develop new treatments. Dr Neil Kad from the University of Kent has been awarded a grant to try to understand the causes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. His team are particularly interested in a molecule called tropomyosin, a protein present in heart muscle which plays an important part in the coordinated contraction of every muscle cell in the heart. They will investigate whether genetic errors in tropomyosin may disrupt its function, giving an insight into the condition of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Fully understanding the individual molecules that are affected in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy will be vital to the development of treatments that tackle both the causes and symptoms of this devastating disease.
Project details
| Grant amount | £105,244 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Fellowships |
| Application type | PhD Studentship |
| Start Date | 22 April 2014 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | FS/13/69/30504 |
| Status | Complete |
