Kenneth R. Laurita, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at the Metrohealth Campus of Case Western Reserve University. He received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Laurita’s main scientific interest is to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmias). To this end, Dr. Laurita has played a seminal role in developing innovative methods for imaging cellular function at the level of the whole heart using fluorescent indicators. Crucially, he has leveraged these methods to determine novel mechanisms of arrhythmias and innovative therapeutic strategies. Dr. Laurita has received an honorable mention for the John S. Diekhoff Graduate Teaching Award, and had mentored over 30 pre and post-doctoral students. Dr. Laurita has authored over 80 original scientific manuscripts, review articles, and book chapters. He is a scientific reviewer for numerous journals and serves on the editorial board for the American Journal of Physiology, Journal of Cardiac Electrophysiology and Heart Rhythm. Dr. Laurita has also served on NIH study section as a permanent member and on numerous ad-hoc committees. He has held NIH funding every year since 2001 and has received grants from the American Heart Association, the Whitaker Foundation, and industry.
Research Information
Research Interests
Focus Areas: Affinity-based delivery of small molecule drugs and biomolecules for applications in device infection, HIV, orthopedics, cardiovascular, ophthalmology and cancer; directed differentiation of stem cells for tissue engineering applications, such as endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes, motor neurons and T-cells