Darren Freed

Biography

Darren Freed is an associate professor Department of Surgery, Division of Cardiac Surgery University of Alberta 2D4.34 WMC, 8440-112 Street University of Alberta Hospital Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2B7 Tel: 780 407-1959 Fax: 780 407-3672

Research Interest

Cardiac transplantation is the gold standard therapy for the treatment of end-stage heart failure refractory to medical therapies. However the wider application of this life saving intervention is limited by the availability of donor organs. Ex vivo organ perfusion has been proposed as a method to expand the pool of donor organs for transplantation. My lab is developing a device that allows full biventricular working mode analysis of donor cardiac function. Experiments are ongoing to determine the optimal conditions for ex vivo myocardial perfusion and techniques to maximize the time the heart can be maintained in a beating state outside the body. The application of this approach is being investigated in a large animal model of heart transplantation. The other major theme of research in my laboratory has been myocardial fibrosis and wound healing, with particular emphasis on the role of progenitor cells. We have found that human bone marrow stem cells (MSC) and human ventricular myofibroblasts have significant similarity with respect to phenotype and function. Furthermore, we also isolated ventricular fibroblasts from discarded ventricular tissue from patients undergoing ventricular assist device placement. Comparing the two human cell types, we showed that human MSC respond to transforming growth factor-beta in similar fashion to human ventricular fibroblasts with respect to collagen synthesis and collagen gel contraction. We have also identified a novel microRNA, as a regulator of the MSC myogenic phenotype. Through these experiments we have identified a potential therapeutic target for treating or possibly preventing fibrosis.