Heart failure is a major cause of death in the world. Unfortunately, adult heart muscle cells retain little if any ability to divide and replace those that are damaged after injury, such as after myocardial infarct.

Our research is dedicated to discovering natural and synthetic signaling molecules that can direct the formation of new cardiomyocytes, ultimately to produce cells and drugs for regenerative therapies. Our three core areas are:

• Embryological and embryonic stem cell projects that focus on natural inducers of heart differentiation
• The Notch pathway and its involvement in heart disease and regeneration
• Chemical genetics and screening approaches to discovery of novel signaling molecules to stimulate differentiation and replication of cells that can form cardiomyocytes as well as discovery of new markers of committed progenitors

This research is supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and private contributions.