Affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ahmed is a basic scientist and full-time principal investigator overseeing an independent laboratory in the Department of Cell and Regenerative Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My laboratory utilizes mouse models to discover and characterize genetic pathways and cellular regulation that influence cardiovascular development and regeneration. I spend a significant percentage of my time mentoring postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduate students. I have pioneered new approaches to investigate the genetic underpinnings of mammalian heart regeneration. I have been at the forefront of this exciting field for the past several years (see section C.), where I have made major discoveries, including the existence of a window of regenerative potential in the neonatal mouse heart, the identification of Meis1 as a transcriptional regulator of cardiomyocyte cell cycle activity, and the requirement for Nerve signaling for cardiomyocyte proliferation in regenerating mouse hearts.