CORE B: IN SILICO MODELING Director: Eleonora Grandi Ph.D. (UC Davis) PROJECT SUMMARY: The computational core will develop and apply multi-scale mechanistic models, simulation and statistical approaches as predictive tools to inform, interpret, and extend experimental observations in Projects 1, 2 and 3. Our quantitative models will span the range of physical scales and the diverse biological functions needed to mechanistically link HF-induced remodeled electrophysiology to patient- specific clinical phenotype. Namely, we will develop physiologically detailed electrical, chemical, and mechanical models from single channel to whole-organ scales. Quantitative computational approaches will enhance our mechanistic understanding of complex and non-linear feedback systems involved in arrhythmia generation and maintenance. The tools will also be applied for in silico screening and prediction of drug effects on varied genetic backgrounds to predict patient pharmacological responses. Computational population-based approaches will be constructed to determine the factors influencing drug efficacy or failure in a specific patient or subgroup of HF patients and inherited DCM patients. CORE B will also provide translation of findings in human pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) and rabbit ventricular myocytes to adult human ventricular myocytes via in silico modeling and simulation.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and other developed countries, and almost half of these deaths occur suddenly, typically due to sustained ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation. CORE B will employ new research tools, including state-of-the-art computer models, to serve as a framework for understanding the mechanisms responsible for these lethal arrhythmias and predict patient specific drug effects.!!
