Micah Madrid

Third year Ph.D. Student in the Efimov Laboratory. (Began fall 2019)

I am currently experimenting with optical mapping at various structural levels with whole heart, heart wedge, and heart slice studies. I collaborate with Dr. Luyao Yu in developing optogenetic devices, Alex Savtcheko to develop clinically relevant optical stimulation, and Ted Wakatsuki to optimize engineered tissues paralleled towards donor human tissues.

I had been exploring preclinical drugs such as dantrolene and various sympathetic/ parasympathetic stimulators, observing their changes to action potential wave phenomena from potentiometric fluorescent dyes. I had also began to learn to reprogram cardiac fibroblast cells to iPS derived cardiomyocytes for drug testing, cellular electrical measurements, and tissue engineering research. 

In the past, I studied biological sciences and focused in molecular biology and biochemistry. I was interested in synthetic biology and biological engineering. I met Dr. Efimov in 2018 I learned about how integrative and expansive his research was in the subject of cardiac electrophysiology & engineering. I learned that I could bring my skillset to Dr. Efimov’s lab and concurrently broaden my knowledge and expertise in a new field.

Outside of science and engineering I am also very interested in art, design, music, and photography. I am currently helping to update this website. 

Education:  

• Bachelor of Science, Biology, University of La Verne, 2019