Cardiothoracic Surgery

Dr. Huang's laboratory aims to understand the chemical and mechanical interactions between extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and pluripotent stem cells that regulate vascular and myogenic function. The fundamental insights of cell-matrix interactions are applied towards stem cell-based therapies with respect to improving cell survival and regenerative capacity, as well as engineered vascularized tissues for therapeutic transplantation. Current projects focus on various aspects of mechanical and physical factors on tissue regeneration. Examples include:

The Karakikes Lab investigates the molecular mechanisms of rare cardiac diseases, such as dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). We employ an interdisciplinary approach, integrating functional genomics approaches in human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) derived cardiovascular cells with single-cell transcriptomics and epigenetics to study cardiomyopathies in a genetically controlled and systematic manner.

Dr. Huang’s laboratory aims to understand the chemical and mechanical interactions between extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and pluripotent stem cells that regulate vascular and myogenic differentiation. The fundamental insights of cell-matrix interactions are applied towards stem cell-based therapies with respect to improving cell survival and regenerative capacity, as well as engineered vascularized tissues for therapeutic implantation.