Mei Methawasin, MD, PhD

Mei Methawasin, MD, PhD, is a physician and researcher whose work seeks to find a mechanistic understanding of how issues during diastole, the relaxing of the heart muscles at the beginning of each heartbeat, contributes to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) with the goal of identifying therapeutic targets. Ongoing research in her lab primarily focuses on the mechanical contribution of cardiomyocytes to diastolic dysfunction in a mouse model of postmenopausal HFpEF.

Dr. Methawasin approaches this research from the perspective of myofilaments, the downstream effectors that regulate the physiology of the cardiomyocytes and, ultimately, the function of the heart. Importantly, the properties of these myofilaments can be altered rapidly (a time of minutes to days), making them attractive targets for therapeutic intervention. In situations where unresolved upstream pathological signaling is present, Dr. Methawasin’s research explores whether modifying myofilaments is a viable approach to alleviating cardiac dysfunction.