Decoding heart-brain talk

“Typically, you’d think the brain tells the heart what to do, but we are finding out that the heart also tells the brain what to do,” says DeMazumder. “The brain can sense the onset of critical illness that typically eludes detection in routine clinical tests until the disease process has overwhelmed the body’s ability to adapt. We are able to eavesdrop on these heart-brain conversations and identify which individuals are at a greater risk for cardiovascular death.”

DeMazumder’s research in this area is promising. It has captured the attention of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He has received an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award of $2.4 million to further his work for the project titled “Eavesdropping on heart-brain conversations during sleep for early detection and prevention of fatal cardiovascular disease.”

The award, established in 2007, supports innovative research from early career investigators who are within 10 years of their final degree or clinical residency and have not yet received an equivalent NIH grant. DeMazumder is among 53 new innovator grant awardees in 2020.

“It is among the most competitive and highly coveted awards from the NIH and culminates after a series of intensive reviews undertaken by a carefully selected group of the most accomplished scientists in the country,” says Richard Becker, MD, director of the UC Heart, Lung and Vascular Institute and a professor in the College of Medicine. “In receiving the NIH Director's New Innovator Award, Dr. DeMazumder joins a list of prior awardees who have changed paradigms and opened new doors in science and medicine through brilliance, creativity and a passion to unravel their mysteries.”

DeMazumder’s research has also been supported by the National Institutes of Health, separately from the above award, the U.S. Department of Defense and the American Heart Association.

“The heart is more than just a simple pump,” says DeMazumder. “It is a highly complex sensory organ for receiving and processing important information from other organ systems, and influencing the higher brain centers involved in perception, cognition, emotion, and adaptive response to illness. We are just beginning to understand the central role played by heart-brain conversations. Our ability to decode these messages and reveal hidden critical illness has potential to save many lives.”

Featured image of Deeptankar DeMazumder, MD, PhD, and UC graduate student Jeffrey Crocker in a College of Medicine laboratory.  Photo by Colleen Kelley/UC Creative + Brand.