Principal Investigator
Assistant professor
Hee Cheol Cho
Education
McMaster University
B.Sc. 1996
University of Toronto
Ph.D 2003
Expertise
• Cardiac physiology
• Stem cell reprogramming
• TBX18
Hobbies
• ____
ASSistant PROFESSOR
Rafael Ramirez
Rafael Ramirez is an assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery. Dr. Ramirez investigates mechanisms and treatments of irregular heart rhythms (cardiac arrhythmias) such as atrial fibrillation, premature ventricular contraction-induced cardiomyopathy, atrioventricular heart block and sick sinus syndrome. His research program uses a diverse array of leading-edge laboratory techniques, including genetic engineering and gene transfer, single-cell genomics, large and small animal disease models, optical mapping of voltage and calcium dynamics, Langendorff perfused heart studies, biochemistry, histology, patch-clamp electrophysiology and computational modeling of physiological processes.
He was a postdoctoral scholar in the Cardiac Arrhythmia Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, then completed a postdoctoral research fellowship and was a lead laboratory research specialist at the University of Michigan Center for Arrhythmia Research. Dr. Ramirez was an assistant professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Virginia Commonwealth University before joining the Department of Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Education
McGill University
B.Sc. Physiology 1996
Universite de Montreal
M.Sc Biomedical Engineering 1999
University of Toronto
Ph.D 2007
Expertise
• Computational modeling
• Electrophysiology
• Preclinical large animal models
Hobbies
• Michigan
postdoctoral fellow
Jinqi Fan, M.D.
Education
School name
B.S. Major, Year
School name
M.S., Speciality, Year
Expertise
• Canine models of atrial arrhythmias
• Direct somatic cell reprogramming
Extras
• hobbies, interests
POSTDOCTORAL fELLOW
Younghwan Choi, Ph.D.
Younghwan’s research as a Ph.D. candidate focused on designing and developing biomaterials to deliver therapeutic agents for regenerative medicine. In the Cho Lab, he is working on endowing proper environments for biological pacemaker with biomaterials or supplements.
Education
Yonsei University
B.S., Biotechnology
Seoul National University
Ph.D., Chemical and Biological Engineering
Expertise
Biomaterials
Regenerative medicine
lead research SPECIALIST
lab manager
Natasha Fernandez, B.S.
Natasha was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic and moved to the USA during her teenage years. She attended Florida International University where she studied Biological Sciences. During her undergraduate studies, Natasha joined the laboratory of Dr. Lidia Kos, a well known melanocyte developmental biologist. At the Kos Lab, Natasha first realized her passion for research while studying cardiac development with a focus on two topics: the role of Sox10 in cardiac innervation and the role of melanocytes on cardiac valve extracellular matrix patterning. Natasha later continued to explore her interest in science at the University of Miami under the mentorship of Dr. Roberto Vazquez-Padron. At the Vazquez-Padron Lab, Natasha focused on studying the maturation process of fistulas for kidney failure in small and large animal models as well as humans. Currently, Natasha is studying the role of the TGFb pathway on TBX18- de novo pacemaker cells.
Education
Florida International University
B.S., Biology
phd student
David Wolfson, B.S.
David was born and raised in Austin, Texas, where he attended the nationally-recognized Liberal Arts and Science Academy magnet program. As a high school student, he worked on therapeutic hypothermia devices in Dr. Kenneth Diller’s Biomechanics lab at the University of Texas in Austin. David then continued to explore his interests in Biomedical Engineering, as an ENGAGE research fellow in Dr. Eben Alsberg’s lab at Case Western. His work focused on the development of a new biomaterial system for simultaneous encapsulation of growth factors and culture of mesenchymal stem cells. Currently, David’s thesis is focused on modified mRNA for the development of cell- and gene-based pacemakers as a Georgia Tech President’s Fellowship recipient and NSF GRFP awardee.
Awards & Fellowships
GT President’s Fellowship
NSF GRFP (2016-2019)
NIH F31 (2020)
Education
Wallace H. Coulter Department of BME at Georgia Tech & Emory University
Ph.D., 2020 (expected)
Case Western Reserve University
B.S., Chemical Engineering, 2015
Undergraduate student
Susan Kim
Upon joining the lab in 2023, Susan's primary focus revolves around optical mapping experiments and subsequent analysis. Under mentorship, she is currently involved in a project that performs optical mapping experiments of GFP-NRVM and TBX18-NRVM monolayers to study maturation behavior exhibited by TBX18-NRVMs. With the aim to learn the temporal evolution of electrophysiological characteristics within TBX18-NRVMs, she hopes to enhance current understanding of the temporal efficacy of TBX18-driven reprogramming.
Fun fact
• Susan is left handed!
Education
Johns Hopkins
Biomedical Engineering, ‘25
Lab Alumni
Postdoctoral researchers
Tae Yun Kim, PhD.
Nan Kyun Kim, M.D.
PhD Trainees
David Wolfson (Postdoctoral fellow at Duke University)
Undergraduates
Nadine Zureick (PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins University)
Research associates
Natasha Fernandez