"My name is Katia, and I am an MSc student in the Molecular Cardiac Physiology Group (MCPG) under the supervision of Dr. Glen Tibbits. I grew up in Moscow, Russia and life has ultimately led me to moving to Vancouver and starting my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Physiology at SFU. My current research as an MSc student is focused on identifying contribution of a variant found in Ca2+-activated K+ channels to lone atrial fibrillation in human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (I know, it’s a mouthful).
What do you do?
My research is dependent on producing atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes that I can further use to model the disease and determine whether the variant is associated with a higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation.
Any advice you would give to starting graduates?
I think one of the most useful things is to realise that, as a new graduate student, you will have a lot of questions and it’s okay to ask for help. And something that works for others, may not necessarily work for you.
Which do you prefer – dogs or cats?
Definitely dogs. In fact, I have been on the waitlist for an Australian shepherd puppy and is expecting them later this summer!"
This Story was originally posted on the SFU BPK Instagram page on April 20th, 2021.