Akin Lab

Mission

To develop novel therapeutics for cardiovascular diseases by researching the changes that drive over-activation on a cellular and molecular level.

Key areas of focus

  • Understanding the contribution of the autonomic nervous system to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases.
  • Deepening knowledge about the changes that drive neuron over-activation in the sympathetic nervous system which correlates with negative patient outcomes.
  • Using techniques including high-resolution imaging to understand sympathoexcitation on a molecular level.
  • Identifying molecular targets for the development of novel therapeutics.

Lab team

Elizabeth Akin, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology specializing in understanding neuronal regulation of the cardiovascular system. Research in the Akin Lab uses advanced microscopy techniques to investigate the molecular pathways involved in regulating the activity of sympathetic neurons. Specifically, the lab studies the neurons that innervate the heart, and how the activity of these neurons is altered under conditions of disease or injury. The lab's goal is to better understand the underlying molecular alterations that lead to increased neuronal activity during disease to develop targeted therapeutics.

  • Elizabeth Akin, Ph.D.: Principal Investigator
  • Karen Hannigan, PhD: Senior Research Associate
  • Jie (Nancy) Zhao: Graduate Research Associate
  • Marika DeFerrari: Graduate Research Associate
  • Ahtziri Diaz: Laboratory Technician
  • Morgan Yung: Undergraduate Researcher
  • Issac Munoz: Undergraduate Researcher

Notable research findings

  • Utilize animal models (spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)) to investigate the increased excitability of cultured sympathetic neurons and cardiomyocytes relative to those from normotensive controls.
  • SHR is a neurogenic model of hypertension, and other labs have demonstrated that sympathetic neurons from SHRs have increased activity and increased release of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, even from neonatal animals.
  • Utilized transfection of fluorescently labeled neuropeptide Y (NPY) to understand differences in vesicular trafficking and release from synaptic varicosities, and how this process is modulated in the presence of neuro-cardiac junctions.

Equipment, technology and techniques

  • Spinning Disk Microscopy
  • Microfluidic chamber
  • High-resolution, live-cell imaging
  • Field stimulation
  • Nucleofector 4D electroporation

Active grants and research projects

  1. Molecular mechanisms of sympatho-excitation in cardiovascular disease.
    • Award: 1R01 HL174439-01
    • Funding organization: National Institute of Health (NIH)
  2. Optogenetic investigation of the immune system on cardiac sympathetic neurons: from in vitro to in vivo.
    • Award: 24PRE1189409, Awarded to graduate student Jie (Nancy) Zhao
    • Funding organization: American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship