Center for Myocardial Biology
At its core, CMB is committed to promoting discovery in myocardial biology by fostering meaningful partnerships among scientists working across disciplines and research modalities. This commitment guides the Center’s efforts to integrate scientific expertise, build program-level research themes, and support the development of state-of-the-art tools and shared infrastructure that drive innovative basic and translational investigation.
These goals also extend to training and mentoring the next generation of investigators, ensuring that early-career scientists have the support they need to pursue impactful careers in cardiovascular science. By creating opportunities for collaboration, skill development, and scientific exchange, CMB serves as a hub for the advancement of future leaders in the field.
CMB-supported research spans several major focus areas in myocardial biology and disease, including heart failure with preserved or reduced ejection fraction, myocardial infarction and post-MI remodeling, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and cardiac arrhythmias and electrophysiology. These interconnected domains reflect the Center’s comprehensive approach to understanding, preventing, and treating myocardial disease across the continuum of basic discovery and clinical application.
Resources
Human Failing Heart Tissue Bank
- Banked cardiac samples from human transplant and ventricular assist device surgery
- Multiple disease etiologies
- Matched left and right ventricle samples
Contact Jason Becker (beckerj@pitt.edu)
Small Animal Surgery and Phenotype Analysis
- Rodent surgery models of myocardial infarction (coronary artery ligation), left heart failure (transaortic constriction), and right heart failure (pulmonary banding)
Contact Iain Scott (iain.scott@pitt.edu)
- In collaboration with the VMI Small Animal Hemodynamic Core, phenotypic analysis of biventricular cardiac hemodynamics in rodents
Contact Iain Scott (iain.scott@pitt.edu)
- In collaboration with the VMI Small Animal Ultrasonography Core, phenotypic analysis of cardiac structure and function (echocardiography/Doppler)
Contact Kang Kim (kangkim@upmc.edu) or Brenda McMahon (brm182@pitt.edu)
Mouse Ex Vivo Physiology Analysis
- Langendorff (reterograde) and Isolated Working Heart (anterograde) analysis of ex vivo cardiac function
- Pressure/Workload/Contractility/Relaxation
- Radiolabeled Fuel Substrate Utilization
Contact Iain Scott (iain.scott@pitt.edu) or Janet Manning (manningj@pitt.edu)
Isolated Cardiomyocyte and iPS-Cardiomyocytes (iPS-CMs)
- Calcium dynamics and contractility imaging measurements in isolated cardiomyocytes
- iPS-CM models
Contact Haodi Wu (haodi@pitt.edu) or Jason Becker (beckerj@pitt.edu)
People
Leadership
Iain Scott, PhD
Co-director
Associate Professor of Medicine
Research area: Cardiac energy metabolism
Jason Becker, MD
Co-director
Associate Professor of Medicine
Research area: Inherited and acquired cardiomyopathies
Faculty
Partha Dutta, DVM, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Research area: Inflammation and cardiac remodeling in myocardial infarction
Ning Feng, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Research area: Epigenetics and heart failure
Janet Manning, PhD
Research Assistant Professor of Medicine
Research area: Cardiac ischemic injury
Guy Salama, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Research area: Electrophysiology and cardiac arrythmias
Maryam Sharifi-Sanjani, PhD
Research Assistant Professor of Medicine
Research area: Mechanisms of heart failure
Haodi Wu, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Research area: Cardiac iPSCs and cellular imaging
Manling Zhang, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Research area: Hypertrophy and heart failure
Advisory Board
Stephen Chan, MD, PhD
Director, VMI
Professor of Medicine
Toren Finkel, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Dennis McNamara, MD
Samir Saba, MD
Professor of Medicine
