Zaher ElBeck

I am a cardiovascular researcher at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University with a background in molecular and cellular cardiac biology. My research bridges basic science and translational medicine, aiming to develop new therapeutic strategies to limit cardiac injury and improve recovery following myocardial infarction.

My research interests lie in myocardial infarction, coronary microvascular biology, cardiomyocyte stress adaptation, and translational cardiovascular medicine. I am particularly interested in how stress-responsive signaling pathways regulate communication between the heart muscle and the coronary microvasculature during ischemic injury. To address these questions, I combine molecular biology, functional genomics, experimental cardiovascular models, human cohort material, and human cardiac organoids. The aim is to define clinically relevant mechanisms that can be translated into targeted gene- or RNA-based therapies and biomarkers for ischemic heart disease.

I am interested in supervising motivated master’s and exchange students who are passionate about cardiovascular research and interested in carrying out a project in the field. Students with an interest in experimental or translational cardiac biology are very welcome to contact me by email.