Hina W. Chaudhry, Md

Biography

 Dr. Chaudhry’s research program focuses on cardiac regeneration, encompassing cell cycle regulation of cardiomyocytes and stem cell biology. The Chaudhry laboratory has characterized a critical role for cyclin A2 in mediating cardiomyocyte mitoses even after birth when expressed in the heart of transgenic mice. After a myocardial infarction (MI) is induced, these mice were able to repair their hearts with significantly restored cardiac function. There is molecular and cellular evidence of “de novo” cardiogenesis. As a translational strategy, the laboratory has delivered cyclin A2 cDNA in an adenoviral vector to adult, genetically naive rat and porcine hearts after MI, and observed significant restoration of cardiac function with evidence of cardiomyocyte proliferation. Cellular mechanistic data obtained in vitro utilizing isolated porcine cardiomyocytes demonstrated clear induction of cell division even in adult, fully differentiated cardiomyocytes. Given the significant efficacy of cardiac repair in a large animal model that mimics human cardiac anatomy and physiology, a human clinical trial utilizing this therapeutic strategy is being planned.

Research Interest

 cardiac regeneration, encompassing cell cycle regulation of cardiomyocytes and stem cell biology