Red X iconGreen tick iconYellow tick icon

Personnel

  • Elena Cruz

    Determining the functional effect of phosphorylated Calsequestrin Type II

  • Raihaan Dalwai

    Calcium Handling Proteins and Cardiac Ultrastructure

  • Thomas Grayson

    Sex-specific Response to Targeting Fibrosis in the Diabetic Heart

  • Alycia Kinns

    Sex-specific Response to Targeting Fibrosis in the Diabetic Heart

  • Dr Michelle Munro

    Our lab investigates how changes in cardiomyocyte organisation influence function in cardiac arrhythmia and heart failure.

  • Elliot Sibbles

    How CSQ2 glycosylation influences heart failure and arrhythmia

  • Dr Helen Waddell

    How structural changes of cardiomyocytes contribute to atrial fibrillation and arrhythmia

  • Georgia Walsh

    Sexual differentiation of cardiovascular physiology in diabetes

Research interests

I am interested in how the cardiac ultrastructure impacts the function of the heart, in particular the organisation of specialised structures known as the dyad and transverse tubules.  I am investigating how these structures are remodelled in atrial fibrillation and heart failure, and whether specific proteins can be targeted to restore cardiac organisation and function in heart disease.

Techniques our group use include: calcium imaging, immunofluorescence, western blotting, cell and tissue culture, super-resolution imaging, confocal imaging.

Project

  • Restoration of calcium balance by calsequestrin in atrial fibrillation

Current funding

  • 2021–2024: Royal Society Marsden Fund, Fast-Start
  • 2024–2025: University of Otago Research Grant

Previous funding

  • 2022–2023: University of Otago Research Grant
  • 2019–2022: Heart Foundation of New Zealand Research Fellowship
  • 2020–2022: Health Research Council, Emerging Researcher First Grant
  • 2019–2020: Heart Foundation of New Zealand small project grant

Publications

Chan, J. A., & Munro, M. L. (2025). Time-dependent effect of FKBP12 loss in the development of dilated cardiomyopathy. Journal of General Physiology, 157(1), e202413673. doi: 10.1085/jgp.202413673 Journal - Research Other

Keaney, E. R., Bingham, K. T., de Jonge, W., Coffey, S., Munro, M. L., & Lamberts, R. R. (2024, August). Sex differences in human myocardial function. Verbal presentation at the BMS Postgraduate Symposium, Dunedin, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Cruz, H. A. E., Jones, P. P., & Munro, M. L. (2024, August). Dual site phosphorylation of calsequestrin II decreases store overload induced calcium release. Verbal presentation at the BMS Postgraduate Symposium, Dunedin, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Atta Manu, E., Munro, M., Ware, A., & McDonald, F. (2024, August-September). The mechanisms through which αENaC negatively modulates breast cancer proliferation and metastasis. Verbal presentation at the Queenstown Research Week (QRW) Cancer Meeting, Queenstown, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Tausi, T. F., Zellhuber-McMillan, U., Mishra-Vakaoti, V., Munro, M. L., & Jones, P. P. (2024, August-September). Investigating CK2 phosphorylation and RyR2 clusters. Poster session presented at the 18th New Zealand Medical Sciences Congress (MedSci), Queenstown, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Poster Presentation (not in published proceedings)

Back to top