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Eric Svensson, M.D. Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Section of Cardiology Committee on Developmental Biology |
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I am a cardiologist with an interest in the molecular mechanisms
regulating cardiac development.
I first became interested in biomedical research while working as an
undergraduate at the University of Minnesota in the laboratory of Dr. Dave Thomas
on the biophysics of muscle contraction. This work inspired me to pursue an
M.D./Ph.D. degree at the UCLA School of Medicine. My Ph.D. thesis was in the laboratory of Dr. James Paulson
on the regulation of protein glycosylation. This experience provided me with a solid background in
molecular biology and gene regulation. After graduating in 1993, I moved to the University
of Chicago for internship and residency training in internal medicine. In 1995, I joined the laboratory of
Dr. Jeffrey Leiden as a post-doctoral fellow and began work on gene therapy
approaches to cardiovascular disease as well as the transcriptional
regulation of cardiac development.
I discovered a new gene called FOG-2, a transcriptional co-repressor
that is critical for normal heart formation, as mice with a targeted
disruption of the FOG-2 gene die in utero from cardiac failure. The hearts of these mutant mice were
found to have tricuspid atresia, pulmonic stenosis, and failed to form
coronary arteries, demonstrating the importance of FOG-2 in cardiac
morphogenesis and vasculogenesis.
In 1999, I returned to the clinical arena to complete my clinical
fellowship in adult cardiology.
Also during that time, I continued my research on the transcriptional
regulation of cardiac development with the support of the department of
medicine. In July of 2001, I was
appointed to the faculty at the University of Chicago as an assistant
professor of medicine. I am also
a member of the Committee on Developmental Biology. In the short term, I would like to further characterize
the FOG-2 gene and identify how FOG-2 fits into the developmental cascade of
genes regulating cardiogenesis.
My long term goals are to continue our efforts to elucidate the
molecular mechanisms regulating cardiovascular development, with the hope
that this research will lead to improved diagnostic and therapeutic
techniques for patients with congenital and acquired heart disease. |
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Faculty: Morton Arnsdorf,
M.D. Harry Fozzard, M.D. Dottie Hanck, Ph.D. Anthony Kim, M.D. Jack Kyle, Ph.D. Victor Mor-Avi,
Ph.D. Angelo Scanu, M.D. Eric Svensson, M.D. Ph.D. Research
Opportunities
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