Our laboratory’s research is focused on the cell physiology of the heart cell, and mechanisms of excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling in heart. Our studies involve proteins that regulate release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum for contraction. One of these proteins is the probable calcium sensor that controls the amount of calcium released at each depolarization. That protein is called calsequestrin. Other proteins of interest include two homologous proteins (triadin and junctin) that carry the signal from calsequestrin to the SR Ca2+-release channel. We’re investigating the role of these proteins in E-C coupling, studying the interactions between calsequestrin and triadin, and trying to understand how these protein complexes form in heart cells, and how their functions may be altered in disease.