Consequences of physiological stressors on the development and function of the cardiovascular system

Symposium — Monday, April 24, 2024 — 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM — , Room W192B
Comparative & Evolutionary Physiology Section — Chair: Todd Gillis — Co-Chair:

The proposed symposium will examine the consequence of physiological stress on the development and function of the cardiovascular system. The underlying questions to be addressed are how plastic is the vertebrate cardiovascular system, what are the consequences and limitations of the remodeling response and does the capacity to remodel have a phylogenetic component. The selected speakers use a variety of different vertebrate models to characterize how stressors such as prenatal hypoxia, metabolic suppression and low temperature influence cardiovascular function across multiple levels of biological organization in fish, birds and mammals. The specific approaches utilized include transcriptomics and proteomics to examine regulative mechanisms, in vivo functional assays including echocardiography and ex-vivo heart preparations, morphological studies and live animal fitness tests. The selected speakers are leaders in their respective fields and should draw significant interest from conference attendees. 

Speakers

• The influence of embryonic hypoxia on the development of the cardiovascular system in birds
  
  William K. Milsom — Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia


• Cardiac remodeling in teleost fish in response to physiological stressors
  Todd E. Gillis — Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph


• Acclimatization of cardiac function to cold environments in birds. Changes in heart size and mitochondrial activity enhance aerobic scope.
  Jordi Altimiras — Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Linköping University


• Molecular regulation of the hibernating heart 
  Matthew Andrews — Biology, University Minnesota Duluth