Research Projects

My research has focused on discovering how cardiac and vascular ion channels affect vascular function in patients with cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure and hypertension and in smokers. My prior publications have included research on endothelial dysfunction in patients with heart failure, smokers, as well as second-hand smokers. My research has progressed from understanding endothelial dysfunction to understanding vascular smooth muscle specific ion channel, BK channel, in cardiovascular diseases. My goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms of vascular dysfunction to develop novel therapeutics for cardiovascular disease.

Wan E, Kushner, JS, Zakharov S, Niu X, Chudasama N, Kelly C, Waase M, Doshi D, Liu G, Iwata, S, Shiomi T, Katchman A, D’Armiento J, Homma S, Marx SO. Reduced vascular smooth muscle BK channel current underlies heart failure-induced vasoconstriction in mice. FASEB J. 2013; 27:1-9. PMCID:PMC 3633822

Adams T, Wan E, Wei Y, Wahab R, Castagna F, Wang G, Emin M, Russo C, Homma S, Le Jemtel TH, Jelic S. Secondhand Smoking is Associated with Vascular Inflammation. Chest. 2015 Mar 5. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 25742439

Ganda A, Onat D, Demmer RT, Wan E, Vittorio TJ, Sabbah HN, Colombo PC. Venous congestion and endothelial activation in acute decompensated heart failure. Curr Heart Fail Rep. 2010; 7(2): 66-74. PubMed PMID: 20424989; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3874714.

I have collaborated with my mentor and colleagues at Columbia University to study large ion channels in cardiomyocytes and to understand how modulation of these ion channels in murine models allow for study of specific phenotypes such as atrial fibrillation and long QT syndrome.

Wan E, Abrams J, Weinberg RL, Katchman A, Bayne J, Zakharov S, Yang L, Morrow JP, Garan H, Marx S. Aberrant sodium influx is sufficient to cause cardiomyopathy and spontaneous sustained atrial fibrillation in mice. JCI. 2016. 126(1). 112-22. PMID: 26595809

Yang L, Katchman A, Weinberg RL, Abram J, Samad T, Wan E, Pitt G, Marx SO. The PDZ Motif of α1C Subunit is not Required for Surface Trafficking and Adrenergic Modulation of CaV1.2 in Heart. Journal of Biological Chemistry. Biol Chem. 2015 Jan 23;290(4):2166-74. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M114.602508. Epub 2014 Dec 11. PubMed PMID: 25505241.

Huang H, Amin V, Gurin M, Wan E, Thorp E. Homma, S, Morrow J. Diet-induced obesity causes long QT and reduces transcription of voltage-gated potassium channels. J Molec Cell Card. 2013; 59: 151-158. PubMed PMID: 23517696; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3647001.

I have studied the role of efferocytosis in determining myocardial infarction size after ligation of the left anterior descending artery. This led to a new paradigm that removal of cardiomyocytes after infarction are critical in cardiac repair, and may lead to novel therapeutics to treat myocardial infarction and heart failure.

Wan E, Yeap XY, Dehn S, Terry RL, Novak ML, Zhang S, Iwata S, Han X, Homma S, Drosatos K, Lomasney JW, Engman DM, Miller SD, Vaughan DE, Morrow JP, Kishore, R Thorp EB. Enhanced efferocytosis of apoptotic cardiomyocytes through myeloid-epithelial-reproductive tyrosine kinase links acute inflammation resolution to cardiac repair after infarction. Circulation Research. 2013; 113(8): 1004-12. PubMed PMID: 23836795; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3840464.

I have collaborated with the ultrasound biomedical engineering group at Columbia University to develop novel technologies to improve real-time imaging of cardiac tissue and ablation lesions. Real time imaging of ablation lesions will improve delivery of durable of lesions for clinical treatment of arrhythmias.

Grondin J, Wan E, Gambhir A, Garan H, Konofagou E. Intracardiac myocardial elastography in canines and humans in vivo. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control. 2015 Feb;62(2):337-49. doi: 10.1109/TUFFC.2014.006784. PubMed PMID: 25643083; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4315358.

Development of new ablation technologies for treatment of atrial fibrillation. Utilizing bipolar technology, a novel radiofrequency system was used to create transmural ablation lesions to the pulmonary veins for treatment of atrial fibrillation.

Vigilance DW, Garrido M, Williams M, Wan E, Zeidner A, Casher J, Zheng K, Kherani AR, Morgan JA, Oz MC, Argenziano M. Off-pump epicardial atrial fibrillation surgery utilizing a novel bipolar radiofrequency system. Heart Surgery Forum. 2006; 9: E803-806. PubMed PMID: 17099977.