Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the industrialized world [see AHA statistics: US causes of death, world mortality rates]. Cardiovascular disease claims nearly a million lives of Americans annually. According to the World Health Organization, the gap between the cardiovascular cause of death and the others will widen in the next century. Sudden cardiac death occurs due to the development of fatal disturbances of cardiac rhythm known as arrhythmias, which often develop as a tornado-like rotors of electrical activity rushing through the heart and spawning into numerous wavelets causing cardiac arrest. One of these cardiac "tornados" recorded in our laboratory is shown in the animation. The research in the laboratory is focused on advancing our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of arrhythmogenesis, and on developing lifesaving antiarrhythmic therapies, including pharmacological agents and implantable devices.

The goals of our research laboratory:

• To provide the best possible research environment for education of future biomedical engineers which will join academic and industrial research laboratories, heart clinics or start their own bio-tech businesses upon graduation from Washington University.
• To conduct research investigation in the field of cardiac bioelectricity for the advancement of our understanding of heart disease and the development of better therapies.
• To serve the research community on panels, organizations, societies and boards for the advancement of national and international biomedical research and technology.

Laboratory meeting and journal club schedule