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$1 Million Gift Boosts Heart Disease Research
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Nancy and Stephen
Grand
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In one of the most promising areas of cardiovascular disease research, investigators are exploring how stem cells—which have the unique ability to direct the production of different types of cells and tissues—may be used to grow new cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) to repair damaged hearts. For the five million Americans living with heart failure, such therapies cannot come soon enough.
A recent $1 million gift from Nancy and Stephen Grand may bring those therapies closer to reality. The gift will be shared by UCSF faculty member Jeffrey Olgin, MD, and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology researcher Lior Gepstein, MD, PhD, who aim to identify treatments for two of the most common heart arrhythmias—atrial fibrillation and cardiac arrest.
In contrast to many of their international colleagues, Technion investigators are working with stem cell lines that meet the criteria outlined in President Bush's 2001 policy on stem cell research. This means that they can legally share the results of their stem cell research with UCSF scientists.
A leader in the field of stem cell biology, Gepstein has developed techniques to isolate and differentiate large numbers of human stem cells into cardiac cells. Olgin, who heads the Cardiac Electrophysiology Service at UCSF, is grafting these new cells onto the existing network of cardiomyocytes and studying their electrical properties as they integrate into the heart. Together, these scientists will work to discover ways to "engineer" the cells to treat arrhythmias.
"With their exceptional talents, Dr. Olgin and Dr. Gepstein are poised to lead the way toward exciting new heart disease treatments," Stephen Grand says. "I am honored to support this promising collaboration."
For information on supporting the Cardiac Electrophysiology Service, contact Michael Chinnavaso at 415/502-5872 or mchinnavaso@support.ucsf.edu.
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