Qutuba is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Lopaschuk at the University of Alberta. His research focuses on understanding how perturbations in energy metabolism contribute to the progression and severity of heart failure. This includes the impact of cardiac insulin resistance on cardiac energy metabolism, pathological remodeling and function in the failing heart, and how worsening of insulin resistance by other co-morbidities such as diabetes and obesity contribute to the metabolic remodeling in the heart failure.

Kim is a PhD candidate who is currently investigating myocardial ketone body metabolism in the setting of heart failure. Prior to joining the lab, Kim completed her Bachelors of Science with Specialization in Biochemistry.

Simran Pherwani joined the Lopaschuk Lab as summer student in 2017, and is currently a Masters Student in the lab. She graduated with a BSc in General Sciences from the University of Alberta in 2019, and started her Masters in Summer 2019. Her research focuses on investigating mechanisms for the cardioprotective effects of Sodium Glucose Co-Transporter 2 Inhibitors (SGLT2i) in the non-diabetic failing heart. She is currently funded by the Sir Fredrick Banting and Dr. Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship – Masters (CGS-M) administered by CIHR, and the University of Alberta Walter H John Fellowship..

Ezra joined the University of Alberta as a graduate student in May 2019 through the MatCH scholarship program. He was a faculty member at College of Health Sciences, Mekelle University, Ethiopia before he joined the University of Alberta. He is currently doing his master’s degree in Medical Sciences in the lab. His research focuses on the role of post-translation protein modification in cardiac substrate metabolic remodeling during heart failure with special emphasis on the role of lysine protein acetylation dysregulation in alteration of cardiac energy metabolism and ischemic reperfusion injury.

Cory Wagg joined the University of Alberta and Dr. Lopaschuk in 2002. He is the lab manager and an isolated working heart specialist. Before joining Dr. Lopaschuk’s lab, he worked at MMRL for 2 years and prior to that received his diploma in Biological Sciences (Lab and Research).

Liyan has about 15 years experience in research field related to heart and energy metabolism in the setting of obesity, diabetes, cardiac hypertrophy, and ischemia. Her current interest is to understand how the metabolism of branched chain amino acid in the heart modulate cardiac remodeling and insulin sensitivity.