Ilka Pinz, Ph.D.

The research focus of my laboratory is lipotoxicity in the heart. With the growing incidence of obesity, and the burden this puts on the health care system, it is important to understand the mechanisms by which certain fatty acids and their metabolites cause a decline in contractile performance. We are particularly interested in caveolae, small plasma membrane domains that are hot spots for cellular communication. Caveolin proteins line the intracellular membrane leaflet and many receptors bind to their scaffolding domain. Increasing the intake of certain lipids changes the localization of these proteins and we investigate the consequences of this loss on cardiomyocyte signaling and contractile function. I also lead the small animal imaging core facility and have an interest in high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and high resolution ultrasound techniques.