Robert Hamilton
Profile: Senior Associate Scientist, SickKids Research Institute
Department: Paediatrics, University of Toronto
Research Interests:
Etiology of Congenital Heart Block (in children of mothers with lupus or Sjøgren’s syndrome). CHB is a potentially preventable cause of heart block in children; CHB requires repeated pacemaker operations every 5 to 7 years from childhood throughout life.
Mechanism of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy. ARVC is the most common cause of sudden death during athletics in Europe, and a frequent cause of sudden death in children & young adults.
Research Activities: Investigation using techniques of isolated (Langendorff) rabbit heart, immunized mouse models with fetal mice investigated by Doppler echocardiography, cell culture models (including heart muscle cell culture), recombinant human proteins, transfection of cardiac mutations & inhibitory RNAs, rtPCR, flow cytometry, double/triple immunofluorescence & confocal microscopy (in collaboration with C Ackerley), multiparticle immunogold electron microscopy, protein interactions and colocalization, patch clamp experiments (in collaboration with G Gross) and optical mapping of myocyte conduction velocity (with K Nanthakumar).
Future Research Interests: Transplantation of the cardiac atrioventricular conduction system.