Members of the PMI are investigating the mechanisms cardiac, skeletal, and smooth muscle contraction and regulation.  They are discovering the fundamental science of contractility, and they are investigating the molecular basis of a range of muscle diseases.

Members of the PMI are investigating the fundamental mechanisms by which contractile proteins use chemical energy to power muscle contraction, and we are investigating the biomolecules that regulate contraction and mechanical properties of the muscle tissue.  We are discovering how these molecules contribute to healthy and diseased states of the contractile tissue, and revelaing the relationship between tissue mechanics and gene expression.

State-of-the-art technologies, such as super-resolution microscopy, cryo-EM, optical traps (laser tweezers), fluorescence polarization spectroscopy, and molecular genetics are being applied to discover the mechanism of chemical-to-mechanical energy conversion.

Investigating Members:

• Stephen M. Baylor, M.D.

• Jonathan A. Epstein, M.D.

• Clara Franzini-Armstrong, Ph.D.

• Yale E. Goldman, M.D., Ph.D.

• Roland G. Kallen, M.D., Ph.D.

• Tejvir S. Khurana, M.D., Ph.D.

• Virginia Man-Yee Lee, Ph.D.

• Jon M. Lindstrom, Ph.D.

• E. Michael Ostap, Ph.D.

• Michael S. Parmacek, M.D.

• Daniel Safer, Ph.D.

• Henry Shuman, Ph.D.

• Marion J. Siegman, Ph.D.

• Hansell H. Stedman, M.D.

• H. Lee Sweeney, Ph.D.

• David F. Wilson, Ph.D.