Åsa Birna Birgisdottir
Job description
Associate professor and head of the Cardiovascular research group at the Dept. of Clinical Medicine. Leads the experimental molecular biology research activity of the group.
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Research interests
The overall aim of our research is to uncover molecular mechanisms involved in cardiovascular diseases. We are currently focusing on cellular functions that serve as mitochondria quality control mechanisms in cardiac cells.
I have established human engineered heart tissue (EHT) as a research model in our group. The EHT consists of cardiomyocytes differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). In EHT, beating cardiomyocytes are embedded in a fibrin-based matrix between flexible silicone posts allowing the three-dimensional EHT to perform contractile work. The resulting beating heart tissue in a dish presents a unique opportunity to investigate molecular mechanisms in the human heart.
Teaching
Mentor in the “Mentor group PhD program in Health Sciences” at the faculty. Main supervisor of Bachelor, Master and PhD students in Biomedicine. Organizes lab visits for students in molecular cell biology (MBI-2012).
