The research conducted in the Poss lab is focused on heart regeneration. With zebrafish as the primary animal model, the Poss lab is interested in the mechanisms underlying heart regeneration and how the findings can be utilized in human hearts.
My mentor is a cardiologist, which has heavily influenced the research project that I have been working on. In his clinic, my mentor has seen many patients with varying degrees of heart failure (cardiomyopathy). He saw that given the same injury to the heart, some patients would get better and some would worsen. Consequently, he wanted to know: “Why do some infarcted (tissue death) hearts recover faster while others of the same infarct size don’t?” His bigger question focused on: “Could regeneration in the heart influence this?”
That’s where GDF11 and I come in. After some preliminary research, my mentor found 4 markers relevant to his questions, one of which was GDF11. GDF11 (Growth Differentiation Factor 11) is a protein that belongs to a family of cell signaling molecules known as the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-b) superfamily. It is involved in hypertrophy and possibly regeneration.
Consequently, my research project is focused on three specific aims:
- Where is GDF11?
- Does the Loss of function of GDF11 influence regeneration?
- Does the overexpression of GDFD11 induce regeneration?
Through various methods, I hope to answer these questions along with shedding some more insight into my mentor’s overarching questions. I hope that my research will also provide a stepping stone toward a better understanding of heart regeneration and its applications in human hearts.
