Sarah M. Heissler

Sarah M. Heissler's research focuses on the molecular machinery that allows cells and muscles to generate and regulate force, particularly myosin motor proteins (the 'engines' that pull on actin filaments to produce movement) and the structural changes in muscle and heart proteins linked to disease. Her lab uses structural biology techniques like cryo-EM (a method for visualizing proteins at near-atomic resolution) to understand how mutations in these proteins cause conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, and muscular dystrophies. This work bridges basic cell biology with mechanisms underlying inherited heart and muscle disorders.

Publication output has fluctuated over the past decade but shows a generally steady-to-growing pace in recent years, averaging about 6.4 papers annually over the last five years.

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