Dr. Susan Howlett

Dr. O'Blenes is working with fellow surgeon Dr. Camille Hancock-Friesen and pharmacologist Dr. Susan Howlett to test a new way to protect the heart during surgery.

Dr. Susan HowlettDalhousie Medical Research Foundation: Dr. Susan Howlett
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Dr. Susan Howlett
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Dr. Susan Howlett

Dr. Susan Howlett's study of heart cells has been forefront in her tireless efforts to combat heart disease.

"The Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation has been a fantastic support for me all along.They helped me set up my lab when I started in 1989, and have awarded me with equipment grants on numerous occasions since.On top of that, they gave $50,000 to purchase a confocal microscope and launch a new imaging facility for the whole faculty, and have dedicated the proceeds of the most recent Molly Appeal to the Core Facility for Experimental Heart Disease.", Dr. Susan Howlett, Professor, Department of Pharmacology

What changes in the heart to make us more vulnerable to heart disease as we get older?Dalhousie pharmacologist Dr. Susan Howlett wants to know, so she is launching a new study of the impact of aging on heart function, and the impact of heart disease on aging hearts.

"First, we want to see how heart cells change their function in a healthy aging situation," says Dr. Howlett, who has been studying heart cells for more than 20 years."Then, we'll expose heart cells to disease conditions to see if the older cells die, or change more rapidly or profoundly, than the younger cells."She explains that she and her colleagues have developed an experimental model using isolated heart cells that creates, in effect, ,heart disease in a dish'.By lowering oxygen levels and increasing carbon dioxide, acidity, sugar, nitrogen and other factors, the model mimics what happens in a human heart during a heart attack.Dr. Howlett will conduct much of this research in Dalhousie's planned Core Facility for Experimental Heart Disease.Her goal is to identify and measure specific changes to heart cell function in both healthy and unhealthy aging situations."We'll be looking for changes in such areas as contractile function, electrical activity, and rhythm," she says, noting that these are the functions most often disrupted in heart failure."If we can find specific mechanisms that make aging hearts more vulnerable to heart disease, they will lead us to targets for preventive therapy."But, Dr. Howlett adds, "Of course the best preventive therapy of all is exercise and a healthy diet!"

Dr. Susan HowlettProfessorDepartment of PharmacologyDalhousie Medical School

Getting to the heart of aging:

Dr. Susan Howlett explores the impact of aging on heart-cell function

What changes in the heart to make us more vulnerable to heart disease as we get older?Dr. Susan Howlett, a professor in Dalhousie's Department of Pharmacology, wants to know , so the world-renowned heart researcher is investigating the impact of aging on heart function, and the impact of heart disease on aging hearts.

"First, we want to see how heart cells change their function in a healthy aging situation," says Cardiovascular Research Group member Dr. Howlett, who has been studying heart cells for more than 20 years."Then, we'll expose heart cells to disease conditions to see if the older cells die, or change more rapidly or profoundly, than the younger cells."She and her colleagues have developed an experimental model using isolated heart cells that creates, in effect, ,heart attack in a dish.' By lowering oxygen levels and increasing carbon dioxide, acidity, sugar, nitrogen and other factors, the model mimics what happens in a human heart during a heart attack.

Dr. Howlett aims to identify and measure specific changes to heart cell function in both healthy and unhealthy aging situations."We'll be looking for changes in such areas as contractile function, electrical activity, and rhythm," she says, noting that these are the functions most often disrupted in heart failure."If we can find specific mechanisms that make aging hearts more vulnerable to heart disease, they will lead us to targets for preventive therapy.But of course, the best preventive therapy of all is exercise and a healthy diet!"

Dr. Howlett has also discovered gender differences in heart-cell function.It seems that male heart cells show age-associated deficits, while cells from females of the same age do not."It might be that females will eventually show deficits, but we do not know this for certain yet," she says."We are also pursuing this aspect of the work."

About Us / Four Areas of Research / Fifty Years of Heart Research by Dr. Susan Howlett
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By Dr. Susan Howlett
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Dr. Susan HowlettProfessor, Department of PharmacologyDalhousie Medical School