The J. David Gladstone Institutes established in 1979 has three carefully structured disease-focused research programs. The Institute offers promise to all whose lives have been directly or indirectly affected by cardiovascular disease (heart disease), neurodegenerative disorders (Alzheimers) and immunological breakdown (AIDS).
Deepak Srivastava MD was appointed director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease in May 2005. His work has benefited from California's vote to allow stem cell research. As a committed pediatric cardiologist and developmental biologist, Dr Srivastava sees immense possibilities in stem cell therapy. His team primarily focuses on two areas – cardiac developmental and stem cell biology and cardiovascular genetics.
Stem cell biology in cardiac development suggests the use of knowledge of stem cells to medically intervene in pediatric patients where cardiac cells do not develop naturally, thus causing pediatric heart malformations often resulting in death. Dr Srivastava’s current research looks into finding the markers to identify stem cells that have the potential to develop into heart cells and determining what cellular cues actually coax cells into transforming into cardiac cells. In essence, this is the process of cardiogenesis or formation of the heart. His research team is also looking into developing appropriate delivery mechanisms to place the steam cells in a pediatric patient and ensuring sufficient immune tolerance so that the cells are not rejected.
One early finding, published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, spearheaded by Dr Srivastava was his laboratory’s discovery of tiny RNAs called microRNAs that control whether cardiac progenitor cells continue to divide or turn into muscle cells.
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