Chief Investigator:

Dr Sophie Wiszniak

Funding Amount:

$35,000

Recipient:

University of South Australia

Overview:

Eight babies are born with a heart defect everyday in Australia, which equates to 1% of all births, and is the leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity. We have recently discovered cardiac outflow tract, great artery, arterial valve and ventricular septum defects in Nedd4 knockout mice, which are reminiscent of the congenital heart defects seen in children. This mouse model will help us to understand the mechanistic processes controlling heart development, with the aim to improve diagnosis and provide new therapies for these highly prevalent disorders.