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Michael S. Hoffman
3rd year medical student
Physiology
8th year of MSTP
mshoffman@wisc.edu
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EDUCATION - B.S. 2002, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Biology
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE - University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2001
Advisor - Curtis Brandt, PhD, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Project - Study of the genetic elements involved in the Herpes Simplex virus infectivity
The project I am working on for my graduate training involves increasing our understanding of how phosphorylation of the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2) modulates protein function. In particular we are interested in elucidating how alterations in phosphorylation levels may be involved in the pathophysiology of heart failure (HF). I am focusing on the activity of Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) and protein kinase A (PKA), the two main kinases responsible for modulating heart function during exercise and stress. In particular, I am interested in two RyR2 phosphorylation sites targeted by these kinases, S2808 and S2814. S2808 has been shown to be phosphorylated by both CaMKII and PKA. Recently S2814 has also been shown to be phosphorylated by PKA. Although many agree about which kinases are phosphorylating RyR2, discrepancies remain surrounding the �working model� for phosphorylation during heart failure.
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