University of Edinburgh

Principal Investigator, Centre for Cardiovascular Science

College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

About

We use a combination of molecular genetics, cell biology, epifluorescence microscopy, videomicroscopy and optical coherence tomography to explore how genes affect heart function in flies. Because the genes we work on have equivalents that are highly expressed in the mammalian heart, our model identifies genetic pathways relevant to the regulation of human cardiac physiology.

I've worked on avian, mammalian and, most recently, invertebrate models, to understand the functional relevance of genes in human development and adult physiology.

I'm now exclusively focused on using Drosophila genetics to explore the function and regulation of conserved genes that are up-regulated in the hearts of both flies and humans.