Cardiac Protein Lab
From left to right: Jordan Klaiman, Todd Gillis, Abiran Sritharan, Elizabeth Johnston, Elizabeth Sears, Nicole Pinto, Melanie Barry, and Amy Johnston.
Welcome to the Cardiac Protein Lab. This lab, led by Dr. Todd Gillis, is focused on the vertebrate heart and the mechanisms that regulate its 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.
News
· Jan 2013. Elizabeth Sears wins a Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology. Congratulations Elizabeth!
· December 2012. Congratulations to Nicole Pinto for successfully defending her MSc thesis entitled "Physical and mechanical characterization of fibres produced from the intermediate filament vimentin for the purpose of producing, protein-based fibres."
· November 2012. New paper published in Biomacromolecules from work completed in the labs of Dr. Doug Fudge and Dr. Todd Gillis entitled: The Production of Fibers and Films from Solubilized Hagfish Slime Thread Proteins.
· July 2012. New paper published in the American Journal of Physiology entitled:
"Effect of cold acclimation on troponin I isoform expression in striated muscle of rainbow trout"
Authors: Sarah L. Alderman, Jordan M Klaiman, Courtney A Deck and Todd E. Gillis.
· July 2012. Review chapter written by Dr. Gillis entitled:
"Evolution of the Regulatory Control of the Vertebrate Heart: The Role of the Contractile Proteins" published in ”Ontogeny and Phylogeny of the Vertebrate Heart”
- 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
Authors: Kelly P. Kirkpatrick, Andrew S. Robertson, Jordan M. Klaiman and Todd E. Gillis
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:
Authors: Justin Shaffer and Todd E. Gillis