Dr. Barbara Muller-Borer
Teaching Interests
Physiological Modeling and Computational Biology, Cardiac electrophysiology, Tissue Engineering
Research Interests
The focus of my research is the study of functional gap junction mediated cell-to-cell communication in cardiac tissue under normal and pathophysiologic conditions. One area of particular interest is the elucidation of the role of cell-to-cell communication on donor cell engraftment, differentiation and function as applied to cell transplantation therapies. My laboratory has developed an in situ model of a heterogeneous cardiac myocyte/stem cell co-culture. Advanced imaging techniques provide high temporal and spatial measurements of intracellular ionic and transmembrane voltage changes and electrical signal propagation in cardiac tissue.
A second area of interest is the development of 3D cardiac microenvironments using electrospinning techniques to facilitate the study of stem cell differentiation and behavior and advance strategies for safer, more efficient, cell-based and tissue engineered regenerative therapy.