Elena N. Dedkova, DVM, PhD
Associate Professor of Physiology
Chair, Awards Committee
Vice-Chair, Student Promotions Committee
Office Phone: (916) 686-7610
Fax: (916) 686-7310
Education
- AHA Fellowship, Cardiovascular Physiology, Loyola University Chicago, IL
- PhD, Physiology, Institute of Cellular Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences
- DVM, Medicine, Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology
About
Dr. Dedkova teaches Physiology courses for our M1 and M2 students. She is one of the global leaders in the field of mitochondrial research and cardiovascular physiology. Prior to coming to CNU College of Medicine, Dr. Dedkova held faculty positions at the University of California School of Medicine in Davis, CA, Rush University School of Medicine and Loyola University School of Medicine in Chicago, IL.
Research
Dr. Dedkova's research is focused on developing new therapeutics for lethal cardiomyopathy in Friedreich's Ataxia (FA). Her lab uses most clinically relevant animal models of FA and pharmaceutical interventions in combination with the state-of-the-art in-vivo imaging techniques. Friedreich's ataxia is a monogenic recessive ataxia caused by reduction of a single mitochondrial protein, frataxin. Although the name of Friedreich's ataxia refers to the neurodegenerative ataxia, most patients with FA die in their 30s from cardiac failure, caused by deficient frataxin expression in the heart. Currently, there is only one FDA approved therapy exists for the neurological symptoms of disease, however there is still no specific therapy which targets lethal cardiomyopathy, the main cause of death in FA patients. The ultimate goal of Dr. Dedkova's work is to investigate the signaling mechanisms which lead to the progression of ataxia, neurodegeneration and cardiac failure in Friedreich's ataxia, identify potential drug treatments which can ameliorate the development of disease and extend the life of affected individuals.
Moreover, Dr. Dedkova has a long-standing interest in examining effects of ketones and ketogenic diets on cardiovascular health. Dr. Dedkova has identified the role of 18-kDa outer mitochondrial membrane transporter (TSPO) protein in cardiovascular health and disease. She published her research data in high-impact journals such as Circulation Research, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Cardiovascular Research, Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA), Frontiers in Mitochondrial Biology, and many others.
Research Interests
Drug development, Heart Failure, Cardiac Hypertrophy, Cardiac Metabolism, Cardiovascular Signaling, Mitochondrial Function, Type 2 Diabetes, Ketones, Ketogenic diets, TSPO