Stretching heart muscles to the limit

Funding for scientists in heart research

Cardiac diseases such as heart failure affect the ability of the cardiac muscle to pump blood. This leads to an increased residual filling pressure in the muscle, which places strain on the cell walls. The scientists Prof. Dr. Oliver Friedrich, Chair of Medical Biotechnology at FAU, and Prof. Dr. Boris Martinac, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Sydney, are now collaborating to research how cells react to this stretching process, and in particular how mechanic stimuli from ion channels are transported into cells as signals for the pathological remodelling of the heart wall. The international project has been granted funding of approximately 230,000 euros for the next three years from a CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) Senior Scientist Grant.

The scientists expect that their research will allow cardiac diseases to be managed better in future. For their research, they are using technology developed by a research group at FAU. The opto-biomechatronic procedure allows cells and tissue to be stretched isotropically and observed using microscopes. The technique is to be developed further to significantly increase throughput and allow large numbers of test chambers containing cells to be stretched.

Prof. Dr. Oliver Friedrich is an honorary member of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, which has collaborated closely with the research group at FAU for many years now.

Further information

Prof. Dr. Dr. Oliver Friedrich
Phone: + 49 9131 8523174
oliver.friedrich@fau.de