The laboratory led by Monte S. Willis, MD, PhD, MBA investigates the role of protein quality control in the pathogenesis of heart failure and myofibrillar myopathies. This research falls under three major themes: Identifying the role of muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases (MuRF proteins) in regulating cell signaling and metabolism by regulating nuclear receptors; Determining how muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases degrade inherited mutant muscle proteins (e.g., cMyBP-C and BAG3 proteins) in the pathogenesis of heart failure and; Discovery of mechanisms and therapies for Bag3 P209L myofibrillar myopathy (MFM).
Active Research: Myocyte specific regulation of metabolism and the response to biomechanical force. NIH-NHLBI; PI: Monte S Willis. June 15, 2018 – May 31, 2020.