Optical interrogation of sub-cellular cardiac signalling in atrial and sino-atrial node arrhythmias at high spatiotemporal resolution

Rebecca is a physiologist with an interest in applying bioengineering methods to answer questions about causes and consequences of arrhythmias. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequently encountered arrhythmia, associated with increased morbidity and mortality. There are approximately 4.5 million Europeans suffering from AF. Research has suggested an important role for calcium dysregulation in AF. To improve our mechanistic understanding, Rebecca proposes a multidisciplinary approach, ranging from conventional electrophysiology to state-of-the-art tissue engineering and optogenetics and development of novel high-speed optical microscopy techniques. The results will allow a better understanding of the basic biological mechanisms of sub-cellular calcium signalling and the aetiology of AF directly relevant in the development of new treatment therapies.