Cardiovascular Center Investigators
Daniel E. Warren, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Saint Louis UniversityDepartment of BiologyCardiovascular Research Interests:
Primary area of research:
- Cardiac pH regulation
- Excitation-contraction coupling
- Cardiac transcriptomics
Related areas of research:
- Blood pressure regulation
Summary of cardiovascular research:
We are an NSF- and NIH-funded laboratory investigating the physiological mechanisms underlying the variation in hypoxia tolerance among vertebrates. Most of our work focuses on the Western painted turtle, the most anoxia-tolerant tetrapod, which can survive 6 months of anoxia at 3°C and 36 hours of anoxia at 20°C. During this time, they accumulate lactic acid to levels that approach 200 mM.
Our cardiovascular work focuses on the cellular mechanisms of cardiac pH regulation and on excitation-contraction coupling during hypoxia and acidosis in the turtle heart. We are also profiling the cardiac transcriptome during cold acclimation and anoxia in the turtle heart with the aim of identifying genes potentially important in anoxia tolerance.