Dr Laura Burzynski

My research is concerned with exploring the effects of inflammatory pathways on the development of heart disease. I am particularly interested in a protein called Interleukin-1 Alpha (IL-1α), a powerful inflammatory mediator that activates immunity and is responsible for widespread blood vessel inflammation in many different vascular diseases including strokes and heart attacks. My work has identified that thrombin, the key enzyme responsible for blood clotting, can activate IL-1α and induce inflammation as blood clots are formed during thrombotic disease.