Grant: DRA : Canada Graduate Research Scholarship - Doctoral Program (CGRS D)

Type 2 diabetes is an increasingly prevalent disease that is now estimated to affect 1 in 9 adults worldwide, with the leading cause of death in this population being cardiovascular disease. A hallmark of type 2 diabetes is metabolic changes in various organ systems, including the heart. In a healthy state, the heart uses both fat and carbohydrates as fuel so that cardiac muscle can contract and pump blood to the rest of the body. In type 2 diabetes, the heart shifts to preferentially use more fat, rather than carbohydrates, as fuel. This shift has been shown to impair proper functioning of the heart, specifically, it makes it harder for the heart to relax between heart beats. However, the link between the fuel source used to sustain cardiac muscle contraction and the proper relaxation of the heart remains relatively unexplored. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine how utilizing fat versus carbohydrates for fuel alters various proteins involved in cardiac muscle contraction and relaxation. This work will help us understand the connection between metabolic perturbations and heart function, which is critical for developing effective treatments that can improve the quality of life in this large patient population.