Pascal Lafontant
The Lafontant lab studies heart repair and regeneration in zebrafish and the giant danio with undergraduate students. In humans and adult mammals, cardiac injuries (heart attacks) result in permanent scarring of the heart muscle. This response to injury may lead to subsequent heart failure. However, in the giant danio and the zebrafish, damaged heart tissue is replaced with new functional cardiac tissue. The lab takes a comparative approach to coronary development, cardiac repair, and regeneration, focusing on mechanisms of cardiac remodeling, collagen resorption, and tissue revascularization and innervation. The students in the lab are investigating these processes for insights into the regenerative capacities these organisms, and for potential therapeutic applications to human cardiovascular diseases.