Skip to main content
Skip to side navigation
Skip to site information
Government of Canada navigation bar
Canada.ca
Services
Departments
Français
Canada Research Chairs
Search
Search
Site
menu
About Us
aaa
Governance
Program representation statistics
Publications
Related Links
aaa
About Us - Main page
Program Details
aaa
Method of Allocating Chairs
Instructions for Convergence Portal
Nominate a Chair
Renew a Chair
Administer a Chair
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Requirements and Practices
Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity
Strategic Research Plans
Program Updates
Forms and instructions
Communications Guidelines
aaa
Program Details - Main page
Peer Review
aaa
College of Reviewers
Interdisciplinary Adjudication Committee
Conflict of Interest
aaa
Peer Review - Main page
Chairholders
aaa
aaa
Chairholders - Main page
News Room
aaa
Latest News
Press Releases
aaa
News Room - Main page
Breadcrumb trail
Home
Chairholders
Profile
Lorrie A. Kirshenbaum
Canada Research Chair in Molecular Cardiology
Tier 1
- 2017-11-01
Renewed:
2011-10-01, 2018-04-01
University of Manitoba
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
204-235-3661
lorrie@sbrc.ca
Website
Research involves
Exploring ways to manipulate cardiac cell growth and cell death to improve patient outcomes after heart attacks.
Research relevance
This research could lead to new treatments that would dramatically improve the outcomes for heart attack patients.
Programming Cells of the Heart
What if we could program cells of the heart to behave as we want? This is the revolutionary idea Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, Canada Research Chair in Molecular Cardiology, is exploring in his research into regulating the growth and death of cardiac muscle cells.
Kirshenbaum is fascinated by the behaviour of cells of the heart, which lose their ability to divide shortly after we are born and either increase in size or die. This is a critical problem for patients who have heart disease, because heart cells that die cannot be replaced.
Kirshenbaum is studying ways to manipulate cell survival at the genetic level. His research has already demonstrated that particular genes are intimately involved in both the life and death of these cardiac cells. Aided by cutting edge gene therapy, Kirshenbaum is using viruses to deliver genes into cardiac muscle cells to direct them how to live longer and resist injury following heart attack.
By introducing new DNA (genes) into these cells, scientists could potentially direct cells to suppress or kill cancer cells, or to kill off other genes which are provoking the death of cells that heart patients need.
Kirshenbaum's research could have ground-breaking implications for heart disease, which is responsible for almost half of all deaths in Canada. Limiting the number of dying heart cells following a heart attack would greatly reduce the effects of heart disease.
Date modified:
2021-06-25