Professor Thomas Brand

Mechanisms of heart development and ageing

My group uses three model systems i.e. mouse, zebrafish and chick to study different aspects of heart development and cardiac pacemaker differentiation and function.

A major part of my lab studies a gene family called the Popeye genes, which we have cloned about 10 years ago and encode membrane proteins involved in cardiac pacemaker adaptation to stress.  Null mutant in mice and zebrafish develop cardiac arrhythmia and sinus node pauses in response to stress. We are studying the mechanisms of protein function using cell biology, protein biochemistry and electrophysiology. Since the phenotypes in mice develop in an age-dependent manner we also want to find the underlying cause for the age-dependency. We also are trying to find evidence for an association of Popdc gene defects with familial cases of cardiac arrhythmia in patients.

Other people in my lab are interested in a progenitor cell population, the proepicardium, which develops at the venous pole of the developing heart. The proepicardium gives rise to the epicardium, coronary vasculature, cardiac fibroblasts, and intracardiac blood island in the developing heart. We currently are studying the origin of these cells and the various signalling pathways involved in its development. We are also interested to study the role of the epicardium in myocardial regeneration, which we want to study in the zebrafish model. In this species it has been demonstrated that the epicardium has an essential role in fostering myocardial regeneration.

Clinically fellows that might be interested to work in my laboratory include those working in pediatric and adult cardiology.

Further Information

http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/about/divisions/nhli/cardio/heart/cardiacdev/

Contact Details
email: t.brand@imperial.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1895 453 826