How Obesity Rewires the Heart’s Electrical System
The Aromolaran Lab, within the Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute (CVRTI) at the University of Utah, studies how normal cardiac electrical and biophysical properties are altered in obesity and associated pathologies — diabetes, inflammation, and lipotoxicity — focusing on the delayed rectifier potassium channels that control cardiac repolarization.
Channelopathies of Inflammation
The lab’s current NIH-funded research, ‘Channelopathies of Inflammation,’ investigates how chronic inflammation — including IL-6 trans-signaling — remodels cardiac potassium channels such as hERG (IKr) and IKs, driving ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in obesity, with the goal of identifying dietary and therapeutic interventions.
About Aromolaran LabOur Research
The Aromolaran Lab focuses on how metabolic disorders remodel the heart’s electrical system — spanning dietary fatty acid signaling, whole-heart electrophysiology, cardiac macrophages, and the spatial organization of hERG potassium channels.
Featured Publications
Recent publications highlight groundbreaking findings on the genetic mechanisms of heart disease, novel therapeutic approaches for heart failure, and innovative strategies for improving cardiovascular health outcomes.
Mentorship and Training
Dr. Aromolaran is actively involved in training and mentoring students and early career investigators from different research backgrounds. He served as co-director of the NHLBI-funded PRIDE program, which supports under-represented junior faculty in cardiovascular disease research.
Meet the Team
