The Sadek Laboratory has a longstanding interest in understanding the mechanisms of cardiomyocyte cell cycle regulation as a means of enhancing the endogenous regenerative capacity of the myocardium. We also study mechanisms of contractile dysfunction and heart failure in various types of cardiomyopathies.
Our goal is to develop safe, innovative, and accessible therapeutics. To this end, we leverage various genetic, metabolic, bioinformatic, biophysical and physiological approaches to identify novel and repurposed compounds for the treatment of heart failure.
Research themes
Cardiac regeneration
Understanding the mechanisms that regulate cardiomyocyte proliferation and endogenous myocardial regeneration.
Cardiomyopathy mechanisms
Investigating structural, metabolic, and molecular pathways that drive cardiomyopathy and heart failure.
Drug repurposing for cardiovascular disease
Identifying FDA-approved compounds capable of stimulating cardiac regeneration and reversing contractile dysfunction in cardiomyopathies.
Precision cardiovascular medicine
Developing patient-specific therapeutic strategies by linking mechanistic discoveries to clinical phenotypes.
Publications
Recent publications from the Sadek Laboratory reflect ongoing work in cardiac regeneration, cardiomyocyte biology, and translational strategies to identify new therapies for heart disease.
Mitochondria directly interact with the nuclear pore complex
This study identified a previously unknown route by which mitochondria dock at pores in the nucleus and deliver energy directly to it.
A Latent Cardiomyocyte Regeneration Potential in Human Heart Disease
This work provided evidence that the human heart may retain a previously underappreciated regenerative potential in the setting of disease.
Identification of FDA-approved drugs that induce heart regeneration in mammals
This study identified FDA-approved compounds with the potential to stimulate heart regeneration in mammals, advancing a translational strategy for repairing the injured heart.
Principal investigator
Hesham Sadek, MD, PhD
Director, Sarver Heart Center
Professor, Medicine and Cellular & Molecular Medicine
Chief, Division of Cardiology
Allan C. Hudson & Helen Lovaas Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine
Faculty
Ivan Menendez Montes, PhD
Assistant Professor, Medicine
Research scholars
Tara Tassin, PhD
Instructor / Research Scholar
Malay Chaklader, PhD, MBA
Instructor / Research Scholar
Visiting scholars
Jorge Peña Peña
Fulbright Visiting Scholar (Spain)
Postdoctoral fellows
Ahmed Elghamry, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Sailu Sarvagalla, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Research staff
Gon Gancedo Alonso, DVM
Research Associate
Hamed Waleed El-Feky
Research Technician II