Research Projects

Approximately 3 million Americans suffer from heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Several drug classes have been shown to be effective, on average, in the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (e.g., beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, etc.), but the individual patient responses to those drugs are highly variable and unpredictable. The goal of this research is to identify genetic variants that can predict responses to medications used for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. 

One-in-four Americans aged 40 and older take a statin medication to lower cholesterol. However each individual responds to statin therapy differently, with respect to both cholesterol-lowering and side effects. The goal of this research is to discover genetic variants and drug-drug interactions that can be used to prevent statin ineffectiveness or side effects.

Pharmacogenetic testing has the potential to prevent adverse drug effects and drug ineffectiveness. However the clinical implementation of pharmacogenetic testing has been hindered by numerous barriers. The goal of this area of research is to understand the barriers hindering the clinical implementation of pharmacogenetics and to develop real-world solutions for overcoming those barriers. 

Survival rates for cancer have nearly doubled in the past 50 years, but the increased use of chemotherapy has led to increased rates of chemotherapy-related side effects. Therefore even if patients survive their cancer, they may have to live with permanent side effects from their chemotherapy. One of the most common side effects of chemotherapy is heart damage. The heart damage is often permanent, and the type of chemotherapy that most often causes heart damage are the anthracyclines. Many patients never recover from anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy. We are using precision medicine to identify the most effective treatments for anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy.

Approximately every 40 seconds, an American will have a myocardial infarction, or "heart attack". We are studying the re-purposing of drugs used for other diseases (e.g., seizure medications) for the treatment of MI because they have additional, epigenetic mechanisms in the heart.