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Virginia Tech graduate receives NIH grant to explore new ways to treat arrhythmias
Zach Williams thought he would become a cancer researcher when he joined Virginia Tech's translational biology, medicine and health graduate program three years ago. But during an experimental stint in the laboratory of Rob Gourdie, a cardiovascular scientist and professor and director of the Center for Vascular and Heart Research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Williams changed direction. While studying a molecule developed by the lab, Williams discovered something new about how it works. This observation could lead to new ways to treat cardiac arrhythmias and reduce sudden cardiac death. As a result, Williams received a two-year, $86,330 scholarship from...
Virginia Tech graduate receives NIH grant to explore new ways to treat arrhythmias
Zach Williams thought he would become a cancer researcher when he joined Virginia Tech's translational biology, medicine and health graduate program three years ago.
But during an experimental stint in the laboratory of Rob Gourdie, a cardiovascular scientist and professor and director of the Center for Vascular and Heart Research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Williams changed direction.
While studying a molecule developed by the lab, Williams discovered something new about how it works. This observation could lead to new ways to treat cardiac arrhythmias and reduce sudden cardiac death.
As a result, Williams received a two-year, $86,330 fellowship from the National Institutes of Health's Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award program.
Now he is wholeheartedly committed to advancing cardiovascular discoveries. Williams worked full-time in the Gourdie lab.
Basically, I was addicted and want to find out. I just enjoyed learning about heart disease and cardiac arrhythmias and the different ways people have tried to treat these problems in the past, and that what I was working on was something no one had ever done before.”
Zach Williams, Virginia Tech
Williams is studying a special adhesion molecule that influences the spaces between heart cells and may contribute to a healthy heart rhythm. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, arrhythmias contribute to sudden cardiac death, which affects half a million people in the United States each year.
The molecule, a peptide, was originally conceived and developed by Gourdie, who is also a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics in Virginia Tech's College of Engineering. Peptides are components of proteins. The lab took a section of a protein and recreated it synthetically.
Previous studies tested the peptide over an hour and found that it had negative effects on cell adhesion and heart rhythm. Williams tried something different. He observed it for up to 48 hours and found that over that period the peptide had an opposite effect - namely: a result that could potentially improve the electrical conduction that affects the heartbeat while reducing cardiac arrhythmias.
With the grant, Williams will test variations of the molecule over different time periods to try to identify a combination that could become the basis for a new therapeutic drug.
“Our best hope,” Williams said, “is to find the right concentration and the right duration of treatment to prevent cardiac arrhythmias and possibly even sudden cardiac death.”
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