Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Dr. Nicholas T. Lam is an Instructor in the Division of Cardiology and Sarver Heart Center, University of Arizona within Dr. Hesham Sadek’s laboratory. His research interests are in cardiac regeneration, cardiomyocyte proliferation and heart failure.
Previously, he was an Instructor and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and prior to that he earned a Bachelor of Biomedical Science from the University of Melbourne as well as a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and PhD from Monash University.
As first and/or corresponding author, Dr Lam has published in Circulation, Nature Metabolism and Nature Cardiovascular Research.
Dr. Lam has consistently been funded, and is currently supported by an American Heart Association Second Century Early Faculty Independence Award (2024-2027).
Heart failure is a costly and deadly disease affecting over 37.7 million patients worldwide, and over 6 million Americans. After a myocardial infarction, cardiomyocytes are lost, and not replaced as adult cardiomyocytes do not proliferate to regenerate, leading to impaired heart function known as systolic heart failure. Remarkably, neonatal mouse hearts can regenerate, mediated by proliferation of pre-existing cardiomyocytes, which is lost within the first week of life, as soon after birth most cardiomyocytes undergo a burst of DNA synthesis without cytokinesis thereby becoming binucleated and unable to proliferate further. Promoting endogenous adult cardiomyocyte proliferation in vivo could help regenerate the heart and restore heart function. Dr. Lam's work focusses on cardiac regeneration and strategies to promote cardiomyocyte proliferation.
Read Dr. Lam's publications here.
