Department of Cardiology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet

Current research focus

Cardiovascular function, imaging and biomechanics

• Investigate mechanisms of LV diastolic dysfunction.
• Investigate mechanisms of LV dyssynchrony and develop better methods for selecting patients for cardiac resynchronization therapy.
• Investigate LV mechanical-electrical interactions and their impact on risk for ventricular arrhythmias
• Develop better diagnostic methods to differentiate between viable and necrotic myocardium in acute coronary occlusion.

Research projects

Supervisor

• Investigation of role of G protein receptor kinase-5 (GRK5) in cardioprotection
• Cardic mechanics in LV dyssynchrony

Collaborator

• Significance of pulmonary monocyte/macrophage system in the pathophysiologic mechanisms of heart failure
• Characterization of intracellular signaling pathways of CTGF and mechanisms of cytoprotective actions in cardiac myocytes
• Involvement of GRK3 in the pathophysiologic mechanisms of heart failure
• Mechanisms of elevated plasma endothelin-1 levels in heart failure
• Functional significance of CTGF-induced restrictive fibrosis of the heart in endurance training vs. heart failure
• Role of myocardial CTGF in the pathophysiologic mechanisms of heart failure
• Functions of myocardial CTGF in the postnatal heart – signalling pathways, delineation of CTGF-induced gene expression programs and role in cell proliferation, differentiation and cell death
• Mechanisms of myocardial CTGF-induced arrythmias
• Calcium homeostasis and the failing heart
• Spatial homogeneity of cardiomyocyte Ca²⁺ handling and sarcomeric function
• Mechanisms of cardioprotection
• Identification of factors that stimulate survival and proliferation of cardiac progenitor cells.
• Generation of transgenic mice with inducible, cardiac-restricted expression of CTGF
• CRT - The single center experience