Cardiac development is a complex dynamic process which takes place during early embryogenesis. Uncovering the key molecular and cellular drivers of heart formation will help combat congenital heart diseases, will give clues on how to stimulate heart regeneration and will act as a “cookbook” for tissue engineering approaches.
Therefore, during my PhD, I aim to help uncover novel molecular and cellular drivers of cardiac morphogenesis focusing on the atrium, where the cardiac electrical current is initiated. To visualize and test this complex morphogenic event at single cell resolution, and in a live animal, I use the optically transparent zebrafish embryos and larvae as animal models for my experiments, combined with transcriptomic approaches.
Twitter: @MargaAlbu