Cardiovascular Medicine and Cardiac Surgery

Biography

Qiuping Zhang has her expertise in nesprin family research in cardiovascular biology field, specifically on understanding the complex roles of nesprin-1 and -2, family members of multi-isomeric scaffolding proteins, in regulating normal and pathological processes in the heart and muscle. She has extensive studies on the role of nesprins in myoblast differentiation and function as well as mutations in nesprin-1 or -2 in association with Emery Dreifuss muscular dystrophy and dilated cardiomyopathy. Her current research is focusing on defining the roles of nesprins in cardiac cell function by determining the functional significance of novel nesprin-1 and -2 mutations on the linker of nucleoskeleton-and-cytoskeleton complex that connects the nuclear envelope to the actin cytoskeleton, and also identifying novel roles for nesprins in the sarcomere. This may reveal novel pathways that contribute to the development of cardiac cell dysfunction and cardiomyopathy.

Research Interest

Cardiovascular biology, cardiomyopathy, nesprin