Dr Miriam Hurley

Profile

I obtained a BSc. (1st class Hons) Human Physiology (International) from The University of Leeds. As part of this degree, I undertook a year of study in the USA at The State University of New York where I focussed upon how the body responds to extreme conditions, such as exercise. Back in the UK, my interest developed in cardiology through a summer vacation studentship at The University College London Institute of Child Health, which focused upon growth in congenital heart disease. I returned to The University of Leeds to complete a PhD in Cellular Cardiology under the supervision of Dr. Izzy Jayasinghe and Prof Derek Steele. This research was focused upon analysing the relationship between local structure and calcium signalling within a cardiomyocyte. To uncover this relationship I utilised the Nobel Prize winning technique of super-resolution microscopy known as DNA-PAINT and incorporated it into a novel correlative imaging proocol. 

Currently I am a post doctoral research fellow on a British Heart Foundation funded grant awarded to Prof Ed White, Prof Olivier Bernus and Dr Rick Walton. This work has utilised optical mapping techniques to understand the contribution that the Purkinje fibre network has to stretch-induced ventricular arrhythmias across multiple animal models. As part of the grant, I undertook a research visit to Liryc, Bordeaux, France to learn their whole heart optical mapping techniques on larger animal models. 

At the end of 2023 I will begin a Medical Research Council funded post doctoral research fellow position as part of Dr Mike Colman’s Career Development Award. This research will be focussed upon understanding the extent of remodelling from the whole heart to cellular level in regard to structure-function relationships underlying cardiac dysfunction in ageing. This work will be a multi-scale, systems approach, to combine experimental and numerical research.

Responsibilities

• Research Fellow
• Postdoc Representative for the School of Biomedical Sciences

Research interests

• Structural and functional heterogeneity at the level of the calcium nanodomain in ageing and heart failure

• Role of Purkinje fibres in mechanically-induced arrhythmias

• Combining multiple imaging modalities to understand how a cells local function and structure correlates. Such modalities include; live-cell calcium imaging, electrophysiology and super-resolution microscopy

• RyR and IP3R mediated calcium release mechanisms within dorsal root ganglion neurones

Qualifications

• PhD in Cardiac Physiology, University of Leeds, UK, 2021
• Bsc (Hons) International in Human Physiology, University of Leeds, UK and SUNY, USA

Professional memberships

• The Physiological Society
• Royal Microscopical Society

Research groups and institutes

• Cardiovascular