Probing the methylome in cardiac remodelling in pathology and aging to discover biomarkers of health and mechanisms underlying transcriptional changes.

The Laboratories of Experimental Cardiology and Functional Epigenetics are recruiting a PhD student to work on an exciting project to develop new tools to analyse and investigate the changes in the methylome of cardiac cells during age and pathology (atrial fibrillation, heart Failure, metabolic syndrome). This position is supported by a recent European Research Agency co-fund grant (ERA4Health) with partners in Spain and France and a Flemish Research Council (FWO) grant awarded together with UAntwerp.

Cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure and atrial fibrillation are the leading cause of death worldwide. With age being their greatest risk factor, prevalence will increase over the coming decades with the changing demographic. Cardiac remodelling is a product of the remodelling of the diverse cell types of the heart, including cardiomyocytes, fibroblasts and immune cells that leads to diminished contraction, increased fibrosis and greater arrhythmia. Recent single ce...