Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that control calcium signals in the excitation-contraction coupling of skeletal muscle. Dr. Figueroa earned her PhD in Biophysics in Venezuela, where she studied the postnatal development of calcium homeostasis in skeletal muscle.
During her postdoctoral studies at Rush University, she gained expertise in using advanced fluorescent microscopy techniques to quantify calcium dynamics in muscle cells. As an Instructor, she developed a platform using patient-derived skeletal cells to study and characterize calcium channel (RyR1) mutants associated with muscle disorders, such as Malignant Hyperthermia and Central Core Disease.
Recently, she has identified several small RyR1 inhibitors that specifically target the abnormal activity of the channel (i.e., due to genetic variants or post-translational modifications) without affecting its normal function, which is very attractive for therapeutic use.
For her « Cohn Fellowship », Figueroa will investigate the decline in muscle function associated with aging and evaluate the efficacy of these novel drugs in this context. Her research will contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms of muscle function loss with age and the search for interventions that improve the quality of life of our older adults.
