Meet the Professor: An interview with Chi Keung Lam
by Dr Jay Lu In this blog post, we have a pleasure to sit down to chat with Professor Chi Keung Lam about his journey in cardiovascular research and the goal of the Lam lab. Dr. Lam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Science at University of Delaware. The Lam lab uses multiple platforms from human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) to in vivo rodent models to identify disease mechanisms in both cardiac physiology and pathophysiology, and [...]
The Physiological Significance of Optical Mapping
by Dr Jay Lu In our earlier post, we touched base on the applications and benefits of cardiac optical mapping, but the physiological significance still leaves room to be explored. As we discussed, the optical mapping technique was developed to help us determine the electrical properties of multicellular cardiac preparations, ranging from iPSC-cardiomyocyte to intact heart ex vivo and in vivo. The secret sauce of optical mapping is to grasp high-speed fluorescence-based imaging with various probes for transmembrane potential (Vm), intracellular [...]
How Cardiac Mapping Can Enhance CiPA?
by Dr Jay Lu What is CiPA? The Comprehensive In Vitro Proarrhythmia Assay (CiPA) initiative is created collectively by an international multidisciplinary team of regulatory, industry, and academic scientists to develop a new paradigm for the cardiac safety evaluation of new drugs that provides a more accurate and comprehensive mechanistic-based assessment of proarrhythmic potential. It is designed to focus on assessing the proarrhythmic risk of drugs, building on the emergence of new technologies, and expanding understanding of torsadogenic mechanisms [...]
An Update on COVID-19 Potential Treatment with HCQ
by Dr Jay Lu Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been touted as a promising and effective treatment for patients with the COVID-19 infection. The drug is often recommended to be used in conjunction with azithromycin, an antibiotic. In this article, we will have a closer look at recent studies on hydroxychloroquine, which may shed light on why the W.H.O. has halted clinical trials of HCQ for COVID-19. While there is some reported beneficial effect with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and azithromycin (AZM) for [...]
Hydroxychloroquine, to Take or Not to Take?
-The risk of COVID-19 potential treatment By Dr Jay Lu Coronavirus, COVID-19, or simply as the infamous pandemic that plagued the world since late 2019, we have all heard about the virus spreading across the globe. But how many of us understand the real statistics and risks behind COVID 19? In this article, we aim to shed some light on the virus, potential treatments, and the possible risks involved The Deadly Path Of COVID-19 Since its unforeseen [...]
Why iPSC Technology is Vital to Cardiac Research
by Dr Jay Lu According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease, specifically ischemic heart disease, is the leading cause of death worldwide. Cardiovascular diseases result in an estimated 17.9 million deaths each year, which is about 31% of all deaths worldwide (1). Medical researchers are continually working on ways to reduce those numbers by developing new technologies that can combat premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases. Although animal models are promising tools in disease modeling, the human heart has [...]