Using zebrafish to find ways to repair the injured heart
Official title: Leveraging zebrafish models to dissect and enhance heart regeneration
Funded at Morgridge Institute for Research, INC. · NIH-11324667 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Scientists are studying how zebrafish regrow heart muscle to uncover signals that might help adults recover heart function after a heart attack.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Morgridge Institute for Research, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Madison, United States) |
| Project start | May 15, 2020 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,057,678 |
| NIH project number | 5R35HL150713-08 |
| Project ID | NIH-11324667 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who have experienced a heart attack or who live with heart failure and are interested in regenerative treatment research are the most relevant group for this work.
✕Less likely to help
People without heart disease or those whose heart problems come from causes unrelated to post-heart-attack scarring may not benefit from findings focused on ischemic heart regeneration.
What this research studies
Researchers are studying zebrafish because these fish can regrow heart muscle after injury, unlike adult humans. They will identify the genes, proteins, and cellular signals that allow clean heart repair in zebrafish. The team will test whether delivering specific factors or changing gene activity with viral vectors and other tools can trigger similar regeneration in mammals. These lab discoveries are intended to point toward therapies that could eventually be tested in people who have had heart attacks or who have heart failure.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to treatments that help damaged human hearts regrow muscle instead of forming scar tissue, reducing heart failure after heart attacks.
How similar studies have gone: Zebrafish heart regeneration is well-established and some related approaches have shown promise in animal tests, but translating these findings to mammals and people remains largely experimental.
Where this research is happening
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Morgridge Institute for Research, INC.
Madison, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Poss, Kenneth D — Morgridge Institute for Research, INC.
- Study coordinator: Poss, Kenneth D
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.