Cara Hawey

Ms. Cara Hawey

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

4Years (2023-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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26 October 2023 in Cells
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
CHCara Hawey
Cara Hawey
KBKyla Bourque
Kyla Bourque
KAKarima Alim
Karima Alim
IDIda Derish
Ida Derish
ERElise Rody
Elise Rody
THTerry Hebert
Terry Hebert
Synchronized contractions of cardiomyocytes within the heart are tightly coupled to electrical stimulation known as excitation-contraction coupling. Calcium plays a key role in this process and dysregulated calcium handling can significantly impair cardiac function and lead to the development of cardiomyopathies and heart failure. Here, we describe a method and analytical technique to study myofilament-localized calcium signaling using the intensity-based fluorescent biosensor, RGECO-TnT. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a heart muscle disease that negatively impacts the heart’s contractile function following dilatation of the left ventricle. We demonstrate how this biosensor can be used to characterize 2D hiPSC-CMs monolayers generated from a healthy control subject compared to two patients diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. Lastly, we provide a step-by-step guide for single-cell data analysis and describe a custom Transient Analysis application, specifically designed to quantify features of calcium transients. All in all, we explain how this analytical approach can be applied to phenotype hiPSC-CM behaviours and stratify patient responses to identify perturbations in calcium signaling.