Chi Keung Lam

Chi Keung Lam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware. His research focuses on understanding mechanisms of cardiac diseases, particularly calcium signaling dysregulation and cardiotoxicity. He holds a B.S. from Purdue University, a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati, and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University.

Research Interests: Dr. Lam investigates heart disease mechanisms using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models and mouse genetics. Key areas include calcium regulation in cardiac cells, drug-induced cardiotoxicity, and therapeutic development. Current projects explore novel regulators of calcium kinetics, cross-talk between calcium circuits and stress pathways, and mitigating cardiotoxic effects of cancer therapies.

Key Contributions: His work integrates iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes with engineered heart tissues to test therapies. Notable achievements include identifying HAX-1's role in calcium signaling and developing peptide-based interventions for cardiac injury. The lab employs proteomic, genomic, and systems biology approaches to uncover disease mechanisms.

Lab Team: Managed by Halley Wisner, the lab includes doctoral students Richard Roberts (Hsp90 in ischemic injury), Sujoita Sen (peptide therapy development), and Sophia Shienvold (Hsp90 post-translational modifications). Undergraduate researchers support ongoing projects.

Research Trends: Recent publications emphasize drug discovery strategies, genetic cardiomyopathy modeling, and understanding cardiotoxic mechanisms of common medications. Work spans from molecular mechanisms to translational applications, bridging basic science and clinical needs.