Understanding Organism-Wide Inflammation After Heart Injury

After a heart attack, human hearts often suffer permanent damage, in part because of inflammatory processes like fibrosis. However, in human infants and in some animals, hearts can be fully repaired following heart attacks. This team will clarify cardiac injury and consequent multi-organ inflammatory responses, which may promote or limit regeneration of the heart, using different model organisms (mice and zebrafish) that can model pro- and anti-regenerative processes. This research will help reveal important cell types and interactions that mediate tissue repair and that may be absent in certain organisms or diseases.