Cardiac hypertrophy is the first and foremost element in cardiac remodeling that occurs due to the sustained hemodynamic load imposed by hypertension. In 2019, hypertensive heart disease was the main cause of 1.16 million deaths globally. Hypertrophy is an adaptive response of the heart which is characterized by an increase in wall thickness of the left ventricle. Even though an initial adaptive response to sustain cardiac output, hypertrophy leads to heart failure in the long run. Since therapeutic options for cardiac failure are limited, it is appropriate to prevent the progression of hypertrophy to failure. Research has been aimed to deliver possible solutions to address the issue. Preliminary work carried out indicates that the effort to target autophagy will be a logical approach in the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy.
The project proposal entitled “Therapeutic targeting of autophagy in hypertrophied myocardium: potential effects of compounds from Desmodium gangeticum†has been sanctioned in April 2022 by SERB, Govt.of India. There is an opportunity for a PhD student to work in this project.
School of Biotechnology, Amritapuri
Laboratory skills in biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology preferable
Research Scientist, School of Biotechnology, Amritapuri