"The impacts of age and frailty on atrial remodeling and atrial arrhythmogenesis"

Abstract:

Atrial remodeling, including changes in ion channel expression and function, as well as atrial fibrosis, are critical determinants of impaired atrial electrical function and susceptibility to atrial arrhythmias including bradycardia, chronotropic incompetence, and atrial fibrillation. Atrial remodeling is prevalent in aging; however, it is critical to recognize that not all individuals age at the same rate. Rather, aging is highly heterogeneous. This has led to the concept of frailty, defined as a state of increased vulnerability to adverse health outcomes due to a diminished capacity to tolerate stressors. Frailty can be quantified in aging mice using a 'mouse clinical frailty index'. This presentation will address the (1) the development and implementation of the mouse clinical frailty index, (2) the impacts of frailty on sinoatrial node and atrial remodeling in aging mice, and (3) novel interventions designed to modulate frailty and how these impact sinoatrial node and atrial remodeling in aging mice.

Bio:

Dr. Robert Rose is a Professor in the Libin Cardiovascular Institute and the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. He holds appointments in the Department of Cardiac Sciences as well as the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. Dr. Rose obtained his PhD in cardiovascular physiology from the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Calgary in 2005. After this, he undertook Postdoctoral Fellowship training at the University of Toronto from 2005-2008. Dr. Rose then obtained his first faculty position in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, at Dalhousie University where he ran an independent laboratory from 2008-2017. In 2017, Dr. Rose joined the Libin Cardiovascular Institute at the University of Calgary.

Dr. Rose's research program is focused on the study of cardiac arrhythmias in the setting of prevalent forms of cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, heart failure, and diabetes mellitus as well as in association with aging and frailty. Areas of interest include sinoatrial node dysfunction and atrial fibrillation. His research program is supported by funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, The Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the Libin Cardiovascular Institute. Work from Dr. Rose's laboratory in these areas is consistently published in highly regarded, high impact journals.

Dr. Rose previously held New Investigator awards from The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (2014-2019), The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2009-2014) and The Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation (2008). He was awarded the MacDonald Scholarship from the Heart and Stroke Foundation in 2014. Dr. Rose has also received the Greg Ferrier Award from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia in 2009 and 2012. Dr. Rose currently holds the DG Wyse-Libin Cardiovascular Institute Professorship in Cardiovascular Research and is a Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society.

Dr. Rose is routinely sought after as a reviewer for many scientific journals as well as to serve on peer review committees for CIHR and The Heart and Stroke Foundation. He is on the Editorial Board of several journals (Heart Rhythm, Heart Rhythm O2, The American Journal of Physiology - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, and Frontiers in Physiology).

Dr. Rose has also been heavily involved in leadership, mentorship, and education. He has an established track record of supervising trainees at all levels of experience. Dr. Rose has developed graduate courses in the areas of cardiovascular physiology and pathophysiology and has previously served as Director of Science Education in the Libin Cardiovascular Institute. Presently, Dr. Rose is Deputy Director of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute.