Professor
Dr. Ye Chen-Izu is a Professor of Bioengineering, Pharmacology, and Cardiology, at University of California, Davis. She is the Principal Investigator and Director of Cardiac Signaling Lab, leading a team of interdisciplinary researchers to investigate cardiac excitation-contraction mechanisms and develop new therapeutic strategies to treat heart diseases. She is an elected Follow of the American Heart Association (FAHA), and serves as a regular member in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)grants review study sections.
Dr. Chen-Izu leads an multi-disciplinary team to develop innovative technology and to investigate heart disease mechanisms. Her research centers on studying how high blood pressure and increased mechanical loading on the heart under various physiological and pathological conditions lead to heart diseases such as hypertrophy (enlargement of the heart), heart failure, arrhythmias (loss of rhythm), and sudden cardiac death. Dr. Chen-Izu and co-inventors have developed a series of innovative technologies including the Cell-in-Gel system to study how mechanical loading affects cardiac function and heart diseases. She also leads translational research to develop high-content high-throughput (HCHT) Cardiotoxicity Screening technology for pharmaceutical drug R&D.
Pharmacology
Cardiovascular Medicine
B.S., National University of Defense Science and Technology, Changsha, China
Ph.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo NY 1994
M.S., Bioengineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing China 1988
Cardiovascular Sciences Lab, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore MD 1995-1999
Fellow of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Research (2014 - present), 2021
National Institute of Health (NIH) Grant Study Section-MPPA, Regular Member, 2021
National Institute of Health (NIH) Grant Study Section- ESTA, Regular Member, 2018, 2019, 2020
Reviewer for 22 professional journals in medicine, biology, physics, and science education.,
To see a complete list of Dr. Izu's publications, please click here.
Hegyi B, Shimkunas R, Jian Z, Izu LT, Bers DM, Chen-Izu Y. Mechanoelectric coupling and arrhythmogenesis in cardiomyocytes contracting under mechanical afterload in a 3D viscoelastic hydrogel. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2021;118(31):e2108484118. doi:10.1073/pnas.2108484118.
Shimkunas R, Hegyi B, Jian Z, Shaw JA, Kazemi-Lari MA, Mitra D, Leach JK, Li X, Jaradeh M, Balardi N, Chen YJ, Escobar AL, Baker AJ, Bossuyt J, Banyasz T, Chiamvimonvat N, Lam KS, Bers DM, Izu LT, Chen-Izu Y. Mechanical Load Regulates Excitation-Ca2+ Signaling-Contraction in Cardiomyocyte. Circ Res. 2021 Mar 19;128(6):772-774. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.318570. Epub 2021 Feb 19. PMID 33601939.
Izu LT, Kohl P, Boyden PA, Miura M, Banyasz T, Chiamvimonvat N, Trayanova N, Bers DM, Chen-Izu Y*. Mechano-electric and mechano-chemo-transduction in cardiomyocytes. J Physiol. 2020 Apr;598(7):1285-1305. doi:10.1113/JP276494. Epub 2020 Feb 3. PMID:31789427.
Hegyi B, Bányász T, Izu LT, Belardinelli L, Bers DM, Chen-Izu Y. β-adrenergic regulation of late Na+ current during cardiac action potential is mediated by both PKA and CaMKII. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2018 Oct; 123:168-179. doi:10.1016/j.yjmcc.2018.09.006. Epub 2018 Sep 18. PMID:30240676.
Hegyi B, Bossuyt J, Griffiths LG, Shimkunas R, Coulibaly Z, Jian Z, Grimsrud KN, Sondergaard CS, Ginsburg KS, Chiamvimonvat N, Belardinelli L, Varró A, Papp JG, Pollesello P, Levijoki J, Izu LT, Boyd WD, Bányász T, Bers DM, Chen-Izu Y. Complex electrophysiological remodeling in postinfarction ischemic heart failure. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2018 Mar 27;115(13): E3036-E3044 pii:201718211. doi:10.1073/pnas.1718211115. PMID:29531045.
Hegyi B, Bányász T, Izu LT, Belardinelli L, Bers DM, Chen-Izu Y. β-adrenergic regulation of late Na+ current during cardiac action potential is mediated by both PKA and CaMKII. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2018 Oct; 123:168-179. doi:10.1016/j.yjmcc.2018.09.006. Epub 2018 Sep 18. PMID:30240676.
Hegyi B, Bossuyt J, Griffiths LG, Shimkunas R, Coulibaly Z, Jian Z, Grimsrud KN, Sondergaard CS, Ginsburg KS, Chiamvimonvat N, Belardinelli L, Varró A, Papp JG, Pollesello P, Levijoki J, Izu LT, Boyd WD, Bányász T, Bers DM, Chen-Izu Y. Complex electrophysiological remodeling in postinfarction ischemic heart failure. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2018 Mar 27;115(13): E3036-E3044 pii:201718211. doi:10.1073/pnas.1718211115. PMID:29531045.
Jian Z, Chen YJ, Shimkunas R, Jian Y, Jaradeh M, Chavez K, Chiamvimonvat N, Tardiff JC, Izu LT, Ross RS, Chen-Izu Y. In Vivo Cannulation Methods for Cardiomyocytes Isolation from Heart Disease Models. PLoS One. 2016 Aug 8;11(8):e0160605. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0160605. PMID:27500929.
Awasthi S, Izu LT, Mao Z, Jian Z, Landas T, Lerner A, Shimkunas R, Woldeyesus R, Bossuyt J, Wood BM, Chen YJ, Matthews DL, Lieu DK, Chiamvimonvat N, Lam KS, Chen-Izu Y, Chan JW. Multimodal SHG-2PF Imaging of Microdomain Ca2+-Contraction Coupling in Live Cardiac Myocytes. Circ Res. 2016 Jan 22;118(2):e19-28. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.115.307919. Epub 2015 Dec 7. Erratum in: Circ Res. 2017 Apr 14;120(8):e32. PMID:26643875.
Jian Z, Han H, Zhang T, Puglisi J, Izu LT, Shaw JA, Onofiok E, Erickson JR, Chen YJ, Horvath B, Shimkunas R, Xiao W, Li Y, Pan T, Chan J, Banyasz T, Tardiff JC, Chiamvimonvat N, Bers DM, Lam KS, Chen-Izu Y. Mechanochemotransduction during cardiomyocyte contraction is mediated by localized nitric oxide signaling. Sci Signal. 2014 Mar 18;7(317):ra27. doi:10.1126/scisignal.2005046. PMID:24643800.