Researcher profile

Detlef Obal

I am an Associate Professor (tenure track) of Anesthesiology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, where my research program focuses on G-protein–coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)–derived cardiovascular (CV) cells. My main goal is to understand how differences in genes, medications, and environmental factors affect GPCR signaling pathways, which in turn influence the development, function, and diseases of the human cardiovascular system. During my postdoctoral training at the University of Louisville, guided by Roberto Bolli, I researched the CXCR4/CXCR7–CXCL12 pathway during heart injury and found that increasing CXCL12 specifically in heart cells helps reduce damage by encouraging healing. In 2018, I was recruited to Stanford University and received training in working with human iPSC at the Cardiovascular Institute under the direction of Joseph Wu. My lab combines large-scale testing with specially designed heart tissues and organ-like structures to examine GPCR signaling without needing to increase the amount of receptors. Because of the ongoing opioid crisis, we use specially modified iPSC models to study the heart issues caused by long-term opioid use, particularly how constant GPCR activation interferes with cell signaling and leads to harmful changes in the heart. Recently, my program was selected to participate in DARPA’s Anesthesia for Battlefield Care (ABC) initiative. Working with Edward Bertaccini, we check how safe new anesthetic drugs are for the heart by using advanced 2D and 3D models created from heart and blood vessel tissues made from iPSCs. In summary, my research integrates advanced stem cell–derived CV models with molecular genetics and quantitative functional assays to uncover fundamental mechanisms of CV disease, with the long-term goal of enabling personalized therapeutic strategies for patients receiving chronic opioid therapy or suffering from opioid addiction.