Paola C. Rosas

University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Chicago, USA

Dr. Rosas obtained her Pharmacy degree at Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria in Peru and her MD degree at Universidad Nacional de San Agustin in Peru. In 2013, she obtained her PhD from Texas A&M, USA. Her postdoctoral training focused in elucidating the mechanisms of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), demonstrating that phosphorylation of cardiac Myosin Binding Protein-C (cMyBP-C), a thick filament protein, is a critical mediator of diastolic function and it is essential to preserve diastolic function during aging. In 2018, she joined the University of Illinois at Chicago as a Research Assistant Professor. Dr. Rosas recently demonstrated that lack of P21-activated-kinase 1 (PAK1) predisposes to both increased adiposity and diastolic dysfunction in aged female mice. Her long-term goal is to discover new mechanisms responsible for the high incidence of HF brought with aging and metabolic diseases.

Shamim Ara Khan Chowdhury

Chicago State University, College of Pharmacy, Chicago, USA

Dr. Chowdhury obtained her degrees MBBS (equivalent to MD) from Chittagong Medical College, Chittagong, Bangladesh, MPhil in Physiology from Institute of Post Graduate Medical Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh and PhD from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Dr. Chowdhury is an expert in echocardiography. In 2002, she received her Diploma in human echocardiography from Medical Career Institute (MCI), Chicago, USA and later specialized in small animals’ echocardiography methods for research. She has performed more than 2000 echocardiography analyses and vascular sonography in mice, rats, and guinea pigs. Additionally, she has trained more than 15 people in echocardiography including graduate students, scientists, physicians, and 2 cardiovascular core directors. Dr. Chowdhury’s expertise is highly valuable in the study of heart function in small animal models in cardiovascular research.  

Christopher Solís

University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine, Department of Physiology and Biophysics and Center for Cardiovascular Research

Dr. Christopher Solís, a native from Costa Rica, works at the interface of mechanobiology in the heart and proteomics. Dr. Solís’s PhD work focused on elucidating biophysical aspects of the mechanism of activation of the thin filaments, particularly in the troponin complex, in response to myosin and Ca2+ activation. Dr. Solís's postdoctoral work centered in understanding the capping dynamics of CapZ in response to mechanical and neurohumoral interventions. His current research project aimed to establish an independent research career aims to understand the role of post-translational modifications of sarcomeric proteins in assembly and disassembly of sarcomeres due to mechanical loading and unloading of cardiac myocytes and myocardial tissues.