Advanced processing and imaging of human heart and cardiac nerve tissue
Core A: Ultrastructural Assessment & Human Tissue
['FUNDING_P01'] · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · NIH-11171338
This project runs a centralized lab that prepares and images donated human and pig heart and nearby nerve tissues to help scientists learn more about heart diseases.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_P01'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11171338 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
If you donate a heart or cardiac nerve tissue (for example during transplant, organ donation, or stellectomy), this core will handle collection, tissue clearing, and high-resolution imaging so researchers can see cellular and structural changes. The team also collects normal or near-normal donor hearts and uses molecular biology techniques to study disease signals. Tissues come from patients undergoing transplants, rejected donor organs, and stellectomy procedures, and samples are shared with the program's linked functional testing core. Because tissue availability is unpredictable, the core centralizes regulatory, consent, and processing steps to make donation easier and faster for patients and families.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people donating organs, patients undergoing orthotopic heart transplant, or those having stellectomy procedures for cardiac conditions who consent to tissue donation.
Not a fit: People who are not organ donors, not undergoing transplant or stellectomy, or who do not consent to tissue donation would not directly participate or see immediate benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could speed discoveries about what goes wrong in cardiomyopathy and other heart conditions and help guide development of better treatments.
How similar studies have performed: Researchers have successfully used tissue clearing and ultrastructural imaging in other cardiac studies, so this core builds on established methods while centralizing access to human samples.
Where this research is happening
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: AJIJOLA, OLUJIMI A — UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- Study coordinator: AJIJOLA, OLUJIMI A
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions: Cardiac Diseases, Cardiac Disorders