Nicole Beard
Dr Beard received her PhD at The John Curtin School of Medical Research, where she investigated the role of a calcium binding protein – calsequestrin - on the ryanodine receptor calcium release channel function in skeletal muscle. Dr Beard joined the laboratory of Professor Larry Jones to pursue postdoctoral studies in which she investigated the effects of a cardiac calsequestrin mutation that causes a catecholamine-induced ventricular tachycardia, which can lead to sudden death. She returned to the Muscle Research Group in 2004 to work with Professor Dulhunty and subsequently set up the Cardiac and Skeletal Biochemistry Team.
In 20011, Dr Beard was awarded a NHMRC Career Development Fellowship and was promoted to fellow and Leader of the Cardiac and Skeletal Proteomics group and is now located at the University of Canberra. Nicole is pursuing three research themes.
-The role of chronic β-adrenergic stimulation and chronic oxidative stress in heart failure and acquired arrhythmia.
-Understanding how chemotherapeutic agents cause toxicity the heart.
-How communication between proteins in the luminal calcium store facilitates skeletal muscle contraction
Abstracts this author is presenting: