Cynthia Carnes, PharmD, PhD
Dr. Carnes’ research is focused on furthering our understanding of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) with the goal of optimizing treatment. A particular focus of her program is understanding the underpinnings of arrhythmias occurring during heart failure. A second aspect of Dr. Carnes’ arrhythmia research program is developing and validating processes to improve clinical pharmacy services for patients on long-term antiarrhythmic medication therapy.
Dr. Carnes is also interested in junior faculty development with an emphasis on providing foundations for research independence in clinical and translational research. This work is supported in her role as director of the KL2 scholars program at the Ohio State Center for Clinical and Translational Science.
Keli Hu, MD, PhD
The research in Dr. Hu’s lab focuses on the study of regulatory mechanisms in myocardial ischemia and cardioprotection, with a special emphasis on ion channels and their implications in the cardiovascular system. A range of techniques are employed such as those in molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, microscopy, and cellular electrophysiology. The goal is to explore challenges in identifying therapeutic targets and to help develop preventive and therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular diseases.
Navjot Pabla, PhD
Dr. Pabla's laboratory studies the pathological signaling mechanisms that contribute to the development and progression of renal disorders. Acute kidney injury and renal cell carcinoma are the two major areas of interest. They utilize high-throughput screening assays and functional genomics to identify molecular targets for renal diseases, followed by validation in mouse models of kidney diseases. The overall goal of these studies is to identify new therapeutic strategies to treat acute kidney injury and renal cell carcinoma, diseases for which no effective therapies are currently available.
Przemyslaw Radwanski, PharmD, PhD
Research in the Radwański lab focuses on cardiac biophysics and pharmacology with the twin goals of understanding the mechanisms of life-threatening abnormal heart beats (cardiac arrhythmias), and developing effective antiarrhythmic therapies. By leveraging experience as both a clinical pharmacist and a cardiovascular researcher, and using cutting-edge biophysical approaches ranging from the single-ion channel level to the whole organism, they have identified a novel arrhythmia mechanism. Neuronal-type sodium channels account for a tiny fraction of sodium channels in the heart, but exert a disproportionately strong influence on cardiac calcium dynamics, particularly in disease. By applying pharmacology principles, in the context of this fundamental insight, they are developing novel therapeutic approaches, which effectively prevent arrhythmias, while avoiding the lethal side effects usually associated with classical antiarrhythmic agents. In essence, Dr. Radwański’s approach could be summarized as better clinical outcomes through basic scientific insights.