Stetson Spotlight Series presents Dr. Heather Evans-Anderson

The 2018-19 Stetson Spotlight Series continues on October 12 with a presentation by Dr. Heather Evans-Anderson,  assistant professor of Heath Sciences, who will speak on “A Co-Culture Model System to Examine Endothelial-Cardiomyocyte Interactions”

Date: Friday, October 12
Time change: 1:00 pm- 2:00 pm
Location: Lynn Business Center – 124
Snacks will be available. All are welcome!

Click here for a complete schedule of Stetson’s Spotlight Series.

A Co-Culture Model System to Examine Endothelial-Cardiomyocyte Interactions”

Signals relayed between the inner lining of the heart, the endocardium, and the contractile cells of the heart, cardiomyocytes, are crucial for the proper formation and basic functioning of the heart. The overall goal of this project is to help define the regulatory mechanisms that occur between cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells using an in vitro co-culture model. Specifically, the primary focus will be on the cell-cell interactions that involve the FOXO family of transcription factors and related signaling pathway components. In order to alter FoxO1 gene expression in endothelial cells to use in an in vitro co-culture system, a CRISPR/Cas9 approach will be employed. The development of this model system to study endothelial-cardiomyocyte interactions would help advance the understanding of how these cells communicate during development to form the heart and would be useful knowledge to help direct new therapeutic targets to address heart disease.

Heather Evans-Anderson, Ph.D., joined Stetson faculty in fall 2017. She is originally from Belle Glade, Florida and attended Vanderbilt University for her bachelor’s degree in biology (BS, 1999). Her Ph.D. in Biomedical Science was granted by the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in 2004. From 2004 to 2008, Evans-Anderson did her postdoctoral fellowship at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in the Molecular Cardiology division, where she was funded by an American Heart Association fellowship award.

Stetson Spotlight Series

The Stetson Spotlight Series at Stetson University is a showcase of faculty research, creative inquiry, and other scholarly engagement to the campus community. Presenters are primarily recipients of grant awards through the Stetson Summer Grant Program.

Click here for a complete schedule of the Stetson Spotlight Series.