Faculty Candidate
"Spatiotemporal Mapping of Cardiac Mechanics and Electrophysiology"
Arvin H. Soepriatna, Ph.D.
AHA Postdoctoral Fellow Coulombe Lab for Heart Regeneration
Brown University
Monday, May 28, 2024
Gateway 1002
12:00pm – 12:50pm
Abstract: Heart failure is a deadly sequela of many cardiac diseases, with compromised ventricular mechanics now recognized as a major driver of pathological remodeling. In parallel, geometrical remodeling of the heart is correlated with increased arrhythmia incidence, suggesting that tissue structure plays a significant role in arrhythmogenesis. However, the mechanisms relating cardiac mechanics and arrhythmias, and their compounded effects on adverse remodeling, remain elusive. High resolution spatiotemporal mapping of cardiac mechanics and electrophysiology is necessary for revealing this complex interplay and will be the focus of this talk. First, we highlight our efforts in advancing four-dimensional ultrasound to characterize regional changes in myocardial mechanics in the context of heart attacks. 3D myocardial strain maps of infarcted mouse hearts revealed heterogeneous strain profiles along infarct border zones, with infarct strain values that reflect disease severity. These maps also introduced a novel approach to noninvasively estimate infarct size, which correlated well with histology. Next, optical mapping of electrophysiology in engineered heart tissues (EHTs) generated from human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes for arrhythmic risk assessment will be presented. Atrial or ventricular 3D cardiac microtissues treated with compounds that target ion channels resulted in chamber-specific dose-dependent changes in action potential metrics, with some inducing triggered arrhythmias. Finally, we will conclude with preliminary data demonstrating the direct effects of mechanics and architecture on arrhythmogenic state of tissues in EHTs and Langendorff-perfused hearts. Collectively, my future research program will integrate these imaging techniques to study mechanobiology underlying arrhythmogenesis and cardiac remodeling.
Biography: Arvin Soepriatna is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Kareen Coulombe’s Lab for Heart Health and Regeneration at Brown University. He received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis in 2014 before earning his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University in 2019, where he advanced the development of four-dimensional cardiac ultrasound under the mentorship of Dr. Craig Goergen. His postdoctoral research, funded by an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship, employs tissue engineering techniques to study both ventricular and atrial arrhythmias, using optical mapping to capture tissue electrophysiology. Arvin has received numerous awards and recognitions for his research, teaching, and mentorship, including being selected as 1 of 20 Rising Stars in Engineering in Health by Columbia and Johns Hopkins University in 2021 and a Postdoctoral Excellence Award for Research and Teaching from Brown University. Arvin is passionate about advancing DEI and serves as a postdoctoral representative in the Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan Committee at Brown University. His contribution to improving DEI on Brown’s campus was recognized through an Engaged Postdoctoral Scholar Award. When not in the lab running experiments, Arvin enjoys playing the piano and cooking dishes from across the globe.
For a zoom link please contact June Norton at jnorton@wpi.edu or Kate Harrison at kharrison@wpi.edu