Steven Poelzing, Ph.D.
“Understanding what channels cells use to communicate provides the basis for developing new treatments and medications to address common ailments, such as ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death due to congenital disease.”
Solving the mystery of sudden cardiac death
What causes the heart's electrical system to malfunction?
Scientists are increasingly aware that sudden cardiac death — a significant cause of mortality in the United States and around the world — is linked to genetic mutations in cardiac proteins, or changes in those same proteins during diseases such as heart failure, ischemia, or diabetes.
One cardiac gap junction protein of interest, Connexin43, or Cx43, allows the spread of electrical activity between cardiac myocytes to coordinate uniform, synchronized contraction. Conventional theory suggests that reducing Cx43 expression slows the spread of electrical activity — conduction — in the heart and increases risk of arrhythmias leading to sudden death. The experimental relationships between conduction slowing, sudden cardiac death, and loss of Cx43 are not straightforward. Conflicting findings have led to a lack of experimental agreement on the degree of conduction slowing expected from a quantifiable reduction of Cx43.
Poelzing hypothesizes that the spread of electrical activity between cardiac myocytes is not only mediated through connexins, but also through electric fields between myocytes. His laboratory has demonstrated that the hydration state of the heart can mask or unmask conduction slowing in the presence of reduced Cx43 expression. Poelzing seeks to determine how pathological insults such as cardiac inflammation and edema modulate the risk of sudden death in the young and how age changes this relationship.
poelzing@vtc.vt.edu
540-526-2108
R-2115, Riverside 2
- Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, College of Engineering
- Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine
- Associate Director, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Faculty Affairs
Nowak MB, Poelzing S, Weinberg SH. Mechanisms underlying age-associated manifestation of cardiac sodium channel gain-of-function. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2020 Dec 26;153:60-71. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2020.12.008. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 33373643; NIHMSID:NIHMS1659961.
Nowak MB, Greer-Short A, Wan X, Wu X, Deschênes I, Weinberg SH, Poelzing S. Intercellular Sodium Regulates Repolarization in Cardiac Tissue with Sodium Channel Gain of Function. Biophys J. 2020 Jun 2;118(11):2829-2843. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2020.04.014. Epub 2020 Apr 21. PubMed PMID: 32402243; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7264809.
Schultz F, Swiatlowska P, Alvarez-Laviada A, Sanchez-Alonso JL, Song Q, de Vries AAF, Pijnappels DA, Ongstad E, Braga VMM, Entcheva E, Gourdie RG, Miragoli M, Gorelik J. Cardiomyocyte-myofibroblast contact dynamism is modulated by connexin-43. FASEB J. 2019 Sep;33(9):10453-10468. doi: 10.1096/fj.201802740RR. Epub 2019 Jul 5. PubMed PMID: 31253057; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6704460.
Jiang J, Hoagland D, Palatinus JA, He H, Iyyathurai J, Jourdan LJ, Bultynck G, Wang Z, Zhang Z, Schey K, Poelzing S, McGowan FX, Gourdie RG. Interaction of α Carboxyl Terminus 1 Peptide With the Connexin 43 Carboxyl Terminus Preserves Left Ventricular Function After Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury. J Am Heart Assoc. 2019 Aug 20;8(16):e012385. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.012385. Epub 2019 Aug 19. PubMed PMID: 31422747; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6759879.
George SA, Hoeker G, Calhoun PJ, Entz M 2nd, Raisch TB, King DR, Khan M, Baker C, Gourdie RG, Smyth JW, Nielsen MS, Poelzing S. Modulating cardiac conduction during metabolic ischemia with perfusate sodium and calcium in guinea pig hearts. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2019 Apr 1;316(4):H849-H861. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00083.2018. Epub 2019 Feb 1. PubMed PMID: 30707595; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6483020.
- University of Utah, Research Associate Professor, Bioengineering
- NASA Glenn Research Center, Consultant
- Case Western Reserve University, Research Assistant
- Wright State University, National Science Foundation Research Fellow
- MetroHealth Medical Center, Postdoctoral fellowship
- Case Western Reserve University, Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering
- Case Western Reserve University, MSE, Biomedical Engineering
- Wright State University, B.S., Biomedical Engineering
- Fellow, Heart Rhythm Society, 2015
- Fellow, American Heart Association, 2014
- Editorial Board, Frontiers in Cardiac Electrophysiology editorial board, 2010-Present
- Top Instructors in Engineering, University of Utah, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
- Michael Bilitch Fellowship in Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology, Heart Rhythm Society, 2004
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Article Item2023 marks a year of firsts for Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program , article
The interdisciplinary program saw its first student assigned full-time to a Fralin Biomedical Research Institute lab in Washington, D.C., its first students from Nepal and Ghana in an internationally diverse incoming cohort, and its first student to be awarded a prestigious grant for future physician-scientists.
Date: Dec 15, 2023 -
Article ItemTurning observations into health interventions: Graduate students continue to make an impact , article
Students in Virginia Tech’s Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health graduate program will pursue impactful health science careers after completing their degrees.
Date: Jun 28, 2023 -
Article ItemMedical student’s research investigates the heart of the matter , article
When Katie Hardin was considering medical schools, it was the extensive research focus of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine that won her heart. Her research into calcium deposits in the cardiac intercalated disk may be a step toward preventing lethal arrhythmias in the future.
Date: Mar 14, 2023 -
Article ItemPhilanthropy supports pilot projects to take on health challenges such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stress, and chronic pain , article
Giving Day contributions to the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC have double the impact, unlocking $20,000 to the Seale Innovation Fund to accelerate innovation
Date: Feb 15, 2023 -
Article ItemTranslational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program’s entering class comprises a rich mix of students , article
The new class includes 11 women pursuing doctoral degrees and three students in the new M.D.+Ph.D. track. The program enrolled its first class in 2014.
Date: Oct 10, 2022 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute expands Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program , article
More than 30 undergraduate and high school students worked behind the curtain of biomedical research this summer at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
Date: Aug 16, 2022 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC Center for Vascular and Heart Research holds retreat to catalyze collaboration , article
The daylong retreat at The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center and on the research institute campus included presentations by research teams about their lab’s key techniques, competencies, and equipment.
Date: Jul 21, 2022 -
Article ItemScientists detect deadly arrhythmia trifecta: Salt, swelling, and leaky sodium channels , article
Cardiovascular researchers led by Steven Poelzing at Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC have published a new study describing how deadly arrhythmias arise from elevated sodium levels, heart tissue irritation and swelling, and sodium channel abnormalities associated with Long QT syndrome.
Date: May 24, 2022 -
Article ItemRare disease research gives families hope, ‘vital’ to advancing medicine , article
Rare diseases afflict 300 million people worldwide. Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC researchers are bridging a gap in scientific knowledge by studying some of the diseases that together add up to a formidable public health challenge. Feb. 28 marks the 14th international Rare Disease Day.
Date: Feb 28, 2022 -
Article ItemTBMH doctoral student crowned first-ever Miss Virginia Volunteer , article
Breana Turner, a first-year student in the Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program at Virginia Tech, was recently awarded the title, earning a $10,000 scholarship.
Date: Aug 24, 2021 -
Article ItemTBMH graduate student awarded NIH grant to study diagnosis and treatment of genetic heart disease , article
Grace Blair, who works in the lab of Steve Poelzing at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, was awarded a two-year grant under the National Institutes of Health's Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award.
Date: Aug 12, 2021 -
Article ItemMind the gap: Heart cells cozy up to prevent deadly arrhythmias, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute researchers find , article
Steven Poelzing, associate professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, leads a team of cardiovascular scientists studying electrical conduction in the heart. Poelzing’s lab recently published a study that showed increasing sodium and calcium levels in the bloodstream helps keep dangerous heart rhythms, triggered by potassium overdose, at bay.
Date: May 03, 2021 -
Article ItemTBMH graduate program office earns gold certification for sustainability efforts , article
The translational biology, medicine, and health graduate program, part of Virginia Tech’s Graduate School, is the first university office to receive a Gold Certification for sustainability efforts through the Virginia Tech Office of Sustainability.
Date: Jan 19, 2021 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute scientists provide new evidence of elusive electrical pathway in the heart , article
Associate Professor Steven Poelzing and Research Assistant Professor Gregory Hoeker, of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, recently published a study that helps explain why our classical understanding of heart beats and the mathematical models don’t add up.
Date: Nov 12, 2020 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC scientists discover compound that could shield heart tissue , article
Imagine there was a drug that you could take soon after a heart attack that could reduce damage by protecting healthy heart muscle tissue.
Date: Aug 19, 2019 -
Article ItemInternational scientists to plug into cellular signals at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute conference , article
To explore potential sources of cellular electrical communication, the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC is hosting the world’s first Ephaptic Coupling Conference in Roanoke, Virginia, from May 5 to 7.
Date: Apr 29, 2019 -
Article ItemVTCRI scientist awarded new federal grant to study cardiac conduction in health, disease , article
The grant will fund Steven Poelzing’s research into a heart mutation, known as a gain-of-function mutation, that can lead to sudden cardiac death and other heart conditions.
Date: Sep 17, 2018 -
Article ItemThe heart: digital or analog? VTCRI researchers shed dramatic new light on disorders of heart bioelectricity , article
Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have found evidence that may disrupt conventional understanding about how electrical activity travels in the heart — a discovery that potentially can lead to new insight into medical problems, such as heart arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death.
Date: Aug 27, 2018 -
Article ItemVTCRI scientists, Carilion clinicians first to identify perinexus in human heart , article
The research team was led by Steven Poelzing, an associate professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, and Soufian AlMahameed, who was a clinician associate professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and the director of Carilion Clinic’s Center for Atrial Fibrillation at the time of data collection.
Date: Jun 18, 2018 -
Article ItemTBMH graduate students land elusive National Institutes of Health fellowships , article
Doctoral students Tristan Raisch and Carissa James have won National Institutes of Health research fellowships aimed at protecting people with heart problems.
Date: Jan 08, 2018 -
Article ItemMedical honor society organizes first-ever idea exchange with biomedical researchers , article
Two members of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine’s Alpha Omega Alpha national medical honor society recently organized an event that brought clinicians and biomedical researchers together to learn from each other and formulate ideas for future collaborations.
Date: May 05, 2017 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientist awarded $2.1 million to fight heart disease , article
Steven Poelzing, an associate professor at the institute, will lead a research team to investigate how the microscopic spaces surrounding heart cells affect connections called gap junctions, which allow electrical impulses and small molecules to pass between cells.
Date: Jan 10, 2017 -
Article ItemThird class joins Virginia Tech’s translational biology, medicine, and health doctoral program , article
The doctoral program is the Virginia Tech Graduate School’s largest interdisciplinary program, with more than 200 members of Virginia Tech’s Faculty of Health Sciences teaching and mentoring the students.
Date: Aug 23, 2016 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientist honored with Heart Rhythm Society Clinical Research Award , article
He will use the award funds to study, in a rodent model, how the composition of fluids administered to patients who have suffered cardiac arrest or myocardial infarction affects whether or not they survive and how well they recover from the event.
Date: Jul 27, 2016 -
Article ItemPersonalized saline may provide solution to heart death , article
Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute scientists found that saline solution composition can affect cardiac response differently.
Date: May 29, 2015 -
Article ItemInaugural heart school events will get rescheduled , article
The public is invited to learn more about heart development and current cardiovascular research during Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute’s first heart school, held as part of American Heart Month.
Date: Feb 23, 2015 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute sets a new pace in heart research , article
The Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, well known for its innovative, world-class brain research, is launching a major new initiative in cardiovascular research.
Date: May 20, 2014
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