Welcome to the Cardiac Protein Lab. This lab, led by Dr. Todd Gillis, is focused on the vertebrate heart and the mechanisms that regulate it's function. We are particularly interested in the proteins associated with the contractile element (troponin, myosin, actin etc) and how changes in these can alter cardiac function. This research involves a variety of approaches to characterize how changes in protein structure and function alter cardiac function. These approaches include gene cloning to identify specific cardiac genes as well as genomic and proteomic techniques to characterize how cardiac stress alters gene and protein expression. In addition, we are examining the functional properties of recombinant cardiac proteins to examine how changes in protein structure, due to mutation or phosphorylation, alters protein function. These experiments are completed in solution as well as in skinned cardiac muscle preparations. In the skinned muscle experiments we characterize the ability of the preparation to be activated by calcium. Through these studies we are working to identify specific mechanisms that can be used to alter the functional capability of the vertebrate heart. Please use the TABS under "Gillis Lab" (to the left) to explore our lab and see what we are up to. Please also check out the website for the Cardiovascular Group at the University of Guelph.

 

Available Positions

• We are always looking for good students

News

•  September 2011. Website for Cardiovascular Group at Guelph now online

•  September 2011.  Paper published in PLoS ONE,  entitled:

Cardiac remodeling in fish: strategies to maintain heart function during temperature change

Authors: Jordan M. Klaiman, Andrew J. Fenna, Holly A. Shiels, Joseph Macri, and Todd E. Gillis

 

• June 2011.  Cardiovascular Research Group at Guelph featured in @Guelph article

• May 2011, Three papers published in the latest issue of The Journal of Experimental Biology. Congratulations to student authors Jordan Klaiman, Silvana Miller, Kelly Kirkpatrick and Andrew Robertson

 

These papers are:

The influence of PKA treatment on the Ca2+ activation of force generation by trout cardiac muscle

Authors: Todd E. Gillis and Jordan M. Klaiman

 

The influence of trout cardiac troponin I and PKA phosphorylation on the Ca2+ affinity of the cardiac troponin complex

Authors: Kelly P. Kirkpatrick, Andrew S. Robertson, Jordan M. Klaiman and Todd E. Gillis

The ontogeny of regulatory control of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) heart and how this is influenced by chronic hypoxia exposure

Authors: Silvana C. Miller, Todd E. Gillis, and Patricia A. Wright

• April 2010, Congratulations to lab members Jordan Klaiman (PhD Candidate) and Andrew Robertson (Thesis Student) who have been awarded Post-Graduate Fellowships from NSERC

 

• April 2010, Read our latest paper paper:

Evolution of the regulatory control of vertebrate striated muscle: The roles of troponin I and myosin binding protein-C.

Authors: Justin Shaffer and Todd E. Gillis