About Us
Under the direction of Jonathan Kirk, PhD, the Kirk lab at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine studies the mechanisms and functional consequences of the weakening heart during various cardiovascular diseases. We are located at the Center for Translational Research and Education, eight miles west of downtown Chicago.
What We Study
Heart failure is complex, but at its core, it results in a reduced ability of the heart to fill with blood and then pump it throughout the body. The pump function of the whole heart is driven by the ability of millions of heart cells (myocytes) to contract with every heart beat. Inside each of these cells is a specialized protein lattice called the myofilament, which is what actually causes myocytes, and the heart, to contract.
What We Do
The Kirk lab uses sophisticated biophysical assays to study human and animal models of disease to understand the molecular mechanisms that cause the myofilament to malfunction. Myofilament function is exquisitely controlled by switches (post-translational modifications, PTMs) on the proteins that make up the lattice, and we use mass spectrometry to discover which of these have been incorrectly switched on (or off) in disease. Then we determine how to reverse these switches and attempt to restore contractile strength to the heart.
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, the NIH National Institute on Aging, the Loyola University Cardiovascular Research Institute, and partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry.
