Joanne Harrison

Biography

Dr. Joanne Harrison is a Senior Research Fellow currently funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology, working in the Cardio-Renal Protection Group, with Dr Ivan Sammut. She is investigating a variety of compounds that may protect against ischaemic injury. This process can arises, for example, as a result of diminished blood flow to heart muscle during events such as angina and cardiac surgery. She is also interested in studying renal injury, particularly as a consequence of diabetes and in protecting kidney transplants from ischaemia reperfusion injury. She use a number of clinically relevant models of ischaemia reperfusion injury including coronary artery ligation, isolated perfused heart, kidney transplantation and cardiomyocyte cultures. These various models allow us to study the effects of ischaemia reperfusion on cardiac and renal haemodynamics and bio-energetics. She has also employed molecular assays to examine markers of apoptosis/necrosis, inflammation and stress signalling. Pharmacological compounds under current investigation include the heme oxygenase metabolites: bilirubin and carbon monoxide, and their effects alone and in combination with more established drugs such as Losartan and Pentoxifylline.

Research Interest

Interests: ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, heme oxygenase, carbon monoxide, inflammation, apoptosis, stress signaling, renal transplant preservation, cardiorenal syndrome, novel pesticides.