ASSistant PROFESSOR

Rafael Ramirez, PhD

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

postdoctoral fellow

Misato Koakutsu, PhD

Education

Expertise

POSTDOCTORAL fELLOW

Younghwan Choi, PhD

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