Kirk
THE KIRK LAB AT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
Welcome to the Kirk Lab home page!
The Kirk Lab is part of the Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
The Kirk lab studies cardiovascular disease from the perspective of the sarcomere, the force-generating unit in heart muscle cells. Our goal is to understand how changes in the sarcomere can lead to disease and how disease impacts the sarcomere, then harness this knowledge to develop therapies to treat cardiovascular disease. We use sophisticated biophysical assays to measure single-cell function from human samples and animal models, and state-of-the-art mass spectrometry to discover changes in sarcomere protein modifications that impact function. Specifically, we study heart failure, diabetes, cardiac dyssynchrony, cardiac ischemia, and genetic mutations.
Our work involves furthering this understanding, with the goal of improving CRT and discovering a way to bring its substantial benefits to the wider heart failure population.
Our Funding
The Kirk lab is currently supported by funding from the American Heart Association, the Department of Defense, the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the NIH Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the Loyola University Cardiovascular Research Institute.
