Unlocking the secrets of heart aging with stem cells

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of age-related death, with conditions such as heart failure being ten times more prevalent in individuals over 75. This project will model human heart aging by generating 3D cardiac tissue derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and developing an aged ‘heart-in-a-dish’ model. Using gene editing and introducing aging-associated stressors, this project will aim to identify functional and structural changes in aged cardiomyocytes which will subsequently be used to develop novel therapeutics to mitigate age-related cardiac diseases.