University of Maryland, Baltimore · BiochemistryThe Obscurin Heart Lab
Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos · Baltimore, Maryland
Research Focus
Dr. Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos leads a research lab focused on understanding the roles of obscurins, a family of proteins, in heart health and disease. Her work centers on how specific signaling pathways affect the structure and function of cardiac cells, particularly through interactions with N-cadherin, a critical protein involved in heart muscle cell adhesion and communication. This research aims to uncover the mechanisms of cardiac diseases and contribute to developing targeted therapies for heart conditions.
obscurinscardiac functionN-cadherincardiomyopathiescell adhesionsignal transductionkinase activationheart diseasephosphorylation
Research Aims
3AIM 01Elucidate the molecular mechanisms that regulate obscurin-Kin1 activation.
AIM 02Determine the role of Kin1-mediated phosphorylation of N-cadherin in cardiac structure and function.
AIM 03Assess the impact of a missense mutation in Kin1 associated with dilated cardiomyopathy.
Skills the Lab Values
Western blotcell culturebiochemical assaysmouse modelsimmunofluorescence microscopyprotein purificationRNA analysisenzyme activity assaysgenetic mutagenesis
Output against the department
Publications118bottom 32% of dept.274th of 402
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations3.6kbottom 18% of dept.329th of 402
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.