As its name implies, the heart is central to life. Every beat of the heart provides nourishment to the entire body.
But heart disease is the number one cause of death globally. If the heart is hurt, we have very few interventions that can help it regenerate.
Canadian university researchers are making a difference. They are creating new bioreactors and biomaterials to grow heart cells from stem cells. They are creating genetic registries to identify rare mutations that could lead to dangerous heart conditions. They are studying the immune response after heart transplantation in newborns to prevent organ rejection in adults.
Canadian university researchers are helping to keep our hearts healthy and beating. Come meet them!
Watch their video interviews:
Milica Radisic at the University of Toronto
Andrew Krahn at the University of British Columbia
Lori West at the University of Alberta