Keywords
Fields of Research (FoR)
Animal Cell and Molecular BiologyBiography
Dr Kaidonis is a Post-doctoral Scientist at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. She is dedicated to understanding cardiac biology in two key areas: (i) the role of adrenergic signaling in the heart's response to pathological (eg. myocardial infarction and hypertension) and physiological (eg. exercise and the 'fight or flight' response) stress and (ii) changing biochemical pathways involved in cardiomyocyte maturation.
My...view more
Dr Kaidonis is a Post-doctoral Scientist at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. She is dedicated to understanding cardiac biology in two key areas: (i) the role of adrenergic signaling in the heart's response to pathological (eg. myocardial infarction and hypertension) and physiological (eg. exercise and the 'fight or flight' response) stress and (ii) changing biochemical pathways involved in cardiomyocyte maturation.
My Qualifications
Bachelor of Biomedical Science (The University of Adelaide)
Bachelor of Science Honours (The University of Adelaide)
Doctor of Philosophy (The University of Adelaide)
My Research Activities
Elucidating the cardioprotective role of the α1A-adrenergic receptor
The α1A-adrenergic receptor (α1A-AR) protects cardiomyocytes from catacholamine-mediated damage in the failing heart. However, it is not known whether α1A-ARs also play a role in cardioprotection when the heart is challenged with a physiological stress, such as occurs during the ‘fight or flight’ response. This area of research is important to understanding how the heart has evolved to facilitate the survival of the fittest.
Understanding metabolomic changes during cardiac development
The ability of the heart to repair after injury is lost as the heart grows and matures. Our investigation into developmental changes to cardiac metabolites may provide insights into pathways that can be targeted so that regeneration can be enhanced after cardiac injury in adults. We have used mass spectrometry at key developmental time points to identify these metabolic changes.
My Research Supervision
Areas of supervision
Untargetted mass spectrometry techniques have allowed for an unbiased investigation into metabolomic, lipidomic and proteomic changes in the heart during growth and development. This data is now being used to reveal biochemical pathways that are important to cardiac development and to help us understand the loss of the heart's regenerative capacity. The next step is to identify biochemical targets that may revert the heart to a regenerative state and help the adult heart repair after injury, which can be done using in vitro and in vivo models. Projects investigating specific targets are available for ILP, honours or HDR students.
Location
Level 5, 405 Liverpool St,
Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010