Home Department: Bioengineering
Mentor: Joseph Wu (Medicine - Cardiovascular Medicine)

"Modeling Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Using Patient-Derived Cardiac Cells"

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common inherited heart disease and a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young individuals, affecting about 1 in 500 adults worldwide. Despite its prevalence, treatment options remain limited, highlighting the need for a better understanding of disease mechanisms. This project focuses on mitochondrial dysfunction, a key driver of energy imbalance in HCM. Using patient-derived cardiac cells, metabolic Seahorse assays, advanced imaging, and artificial intelligence, they aim to characterize how mitochondrial function changes as heart muscle thickens and to predict disease progression at the cellular level.