Ann C. Foley

Ann C. Foley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Clemson University. Her research focuses on cardiac regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and understanding mechanisms of cardiac development using embryonic stem cells. She leads the Cardiac Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, exploring sinoatrial node differentiation, biofabrication of cardiac tissues, and epigenetic regulation of developmental enhancers.

Dr. Foley holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Her work integrates stem cell biology, molecular genetics, and engineering to develop therapeutic strategies for cardiac diseases. Key projects include creating bioengineered pacemakers, designing biosensors for signaling pathways, and studying endoderm-mesoderm interactions in heart formation.

Her research collaborations involve experts in electrophysiology (Dr. Martin Morad), epigenetics (Dr. Ruchi Bajpai), and bioengineering (Drs. Yin Mei and Roger Markwald). She has pioneered protocols for sinoatrial node cell differentiation using TAK1 overexpression and developed novel tools like enhancer reporters and Wnt/BMP signaling biosensors.

Dr. Foley’s lab also investigates XEN stem cells as models for cardiac induction and explores large-scale cell amplification techniques for functional genomics studies. Her contributions span from basic developmental biology to translational applications in regenerative medicine.