Assistant professor of Biological Sciences Haijun Chen has been featured in the recent newsletter of the American Heart Association (AHA). As the recipient of a Scientist Development Grant from the AHA, his research focuses on how cardiac excitation-contraction coupling controls human regular heartbeats. Disturbances in the normal beating pattern of the heart, called cardiac arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat, is a life-threatening disorder that can cause sudden death.

Dr. Chen’s research focuses on potassium channel complexes associated with both inherited and drug-induced cardiac arrhythmia. He and his research team study the basic properties of potassium channels such as structure / function, regulation / modulation, and pharmacology with the goal of understanding how these potassium channels function in normal and patho-physiological conditions at molecular and cellular levels. The research promises to advance current knowledge on molecular cardiology and medicine and may lead to novel therapy methods and the development of new medications for the treatment of cardiac disease.

Prior to joining UAlbany, Dr. Chen was an Associate Research Scientist and a Postdoctoral Associate at the Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from the Max-Planck Institute, Germany.

April 30, 2008