Research Update

Steven M. Gootter Investigator Awards
Granted to Two Sudden Cardiac Death Research Projects
at The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center

Sudden cardiac death, the leading cause of natural death in the United States, is the focus of two distinct and compelling research projects at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center that have been granted the first annual Steven M. Gootter Investigator Award for the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death. Created by the Steven M. Gootter Foundation in partnership with the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center, the Steven M. Gootter Investigator Award is designed to foster greater understanding of the causes and prevention of sudden cardiac death.

Teams of researchers were invited to present proposals to a committee of researchers and physicians led by Dr. Gordon A. Ewy, director of the UA Sarver Heart Center. The caliber of candidates and proposals was so extraordinary and exciting, that instead of granting one Award, as originally planned, The Steven M. Gootter Investigator Award was granted to two separate, yet equally important, research projects. The two projects focus on diverse, yet complementary, areas of study; the use of magnetic resonance imaging (predictor of the disease), and the role of the protein actin (risk factor for sudden cardiac death).

"We believe that each of these studies can generate important findings," noted Dr. Ewy. Bobby Present, president of the Steven M. Gootter Foundation, added: "We are gratified to be supporting a project that has the potential to have a dramatic impact in the fight against sudden cardiac death."

Study of the use of cardiac MRI as a predictor of sudden cardiac death

Vincent L. Sorrell, MD is a Sarver Heart Center member, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Radiology at the College of Medicine and the Allan C. Hudson and Helen Lovaas Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Imaging. His research will investigate the prediction of sudden cardiac death by using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and will initiate a prospective registry of patients receiving implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs). Dr. Sorrell's work will include cooperation with Drs. Peter Ott and Julia Indik. Drs. Ott and Indik, who are responsible for the implantation of ICDs, are members of the Department of Electrophysiology at the Sarver Heart Center.

The first phase of Dr. Sorrel's study was so successful that he has been awarded with The Steven M. Gootter Foundation Award for a second year. Dr. Shu-Fen Wung and F. Brian Boudi have joined his team.

Study of the protein actin, a possible risk factor for sudden cardiac death

Anke Zieseniss, PhD, is a research associate in the laboratory of Dr. Carol Gregorio in Cell Biology and Anatomy in the College of Medicine. Dr. Gregorio, a member of the UA Sarver Heart Center, leads the Molecular Cardiovascular Research Program. Dr. Zieseniss's study will investigate the role of the protein actin in heart failure.

Actin is an indispensable structural element of cells and the major component of muscles - including the heart muscle. Changes in actin, caused by genetic mutations identified in humans, are a frequent cause of sudden cardiac death. Studying these actin mutations may explain how genetic defects in this protein affect muscle-force generation and muscle contraction and, as a result, lead to sudden death.

Dr. Zieseniss recently presented her findings in Stockholm, Sweden and has applied for a grant from the American Heart Association to advance her important work.

The Steven M. Gootter Endowed Chair for Sudden Cardiac Death

Our long term goal is to fund the Steven M. Gootter Endowed Chair. An endowed chair will allow the Sarver Heart Center to recruit/retain a top-notch faculty member and implement a program focused on sudden cardiac death.

What is an Endowed Chair?

An endowed chair allows not only for the startup or enhancement of an academic program by helping in the recruitment and retention of a pre-eminent faculty member, but also assures continuing success of the program.Endowed chairs are reserved for those distinguished scholars who are rising or who have risen to the top of their respective areas of endeavor.