Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of California, Los Angeles received a Project Grant of $169,776 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), awarded July 15, 2026, with an ultimate completion date of June 30, 2031. This award supports research to identify molecular mechanisms and develop novel therapeutic interventions for postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF), the most common complication following cardiac surgery, affecting 30–40% of cardiac surgical patients.

The grant funds a comprehensive research program combining preclinical and translational studies. Deliverables include: (1) preclinical efficacy assessment of selective late sodium current inhibitors and selective late L-type calcium channel inhibitors (specifically eleclazine and roscovitine) in a newly developed mouse model of POAF that recapitulates decreased fibroblast growth factor 13 (FGF13) expression observed in human atrial cardiomyocytes; (2) patch clamp electrophysiology experiments on isolated atrial myocytes to evaluate antiarrhythmic efficacy and mechanisms; and (3) single nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) analysis of human left atrial tissue to identify cell-type-specific gene expression patterns that promote atrial substrate vulnerability to POAF. These research products are designed to elucidate the molecular basis of POAF and establish evidence-based pharmacologic strategies for clinical translation.