From Lab to Life: Translating Heart Cell Discoveries into Therapy
Robert Gourdie, Ph.D., FAHA, AIMBE
Heywood Fralin Professor and Director
Center for Vascular and Heart Research
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Professor
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics
Virginia Tech College of Engineering
Elected Member, National Academy of Inventors
Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture
From Lab to Life: Translating Heart Cell Discoveries into Therapy
Date: Sept. 18, 2025
Time: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. (Reception and hors d'oeuvres at 5 p.m.)
Archived video
About this Seminar
Dr. Robert Gourdie’s Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture will take the audience on a journey from the basics of how heart cells talk to each other, all the way to new treatments that can improve lives. He will explain how his team’s discoveries about cell-to-cell connections—tiny structures called gap junctions and the perinexus—have changed the way scientists think about how heartbeats are coordinated and how irregular heart rhythms start. Gourdie will show how this understanding inspired his team to develop specialized molecules, which are now being tested to help heal wounds, protect the heart after injury, and even fight cancer. He will share real-life stories about how basic science from the lab grew into biotechnology companies and treatments. He will also describe how turning research into real-world health solutions benefits everyone — especially when supported by public funding.
Additional Details
This is a free event hosted by Dr. Michael Friedlander and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. For more information, please call 540-526-2059.
About Maury Strauss
Maury Strauss was a longtime community benefactor and businessman who supported biomedical research with the goal of energizing the local economy and improving quality of life in our neighborhoods and around the world. In order to ensure the continued success of Roanoke’s biomedical research enterprise, as well as the free public seminars, Mr. Strauss made a generous gift to the series. He passed away in June 2024 at age 99.
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