Parallax by Ankur Kalra

In this insightful episode of Parallax, Dr Ankur Kalra explores the emerging field of cardiac epigenetics with Dr Manuel Rosa-Garrido, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Their conversation examines how the three-dimensional organization of DNA within the cell nucleus influences heart disease development beyond traditional genetic sequencing. Dr Rosa-Garrido shares his pioneering work using Hi-C technology to map genome structure, revealing that DNA arrangement plays a crucial role in cardiac pathology. The discussion covers key concepts including chromatin loops, topologically associating domains, and compartmentalization—explaining how these structures regulate gene expression and how their disruption contributes to cardiovascular disease. The episode explores practical implications for clinical practice, from early biomarker identification to potential CRISPR-based therapies that could target chromatin structure. Dr Rosa-Garrido outlines how this research could tra