Xiaoli Xu, Ph.D.

Zebrafish are only half the length of your thumb, but they may soon have a tremendous impact on medical treatments and possible cures. That prediction really is not a quantum leap - at least at Mayo Clinic it's simply the city block between scientist Xiaoli Xu, Ph.D. and the office physician researcher Michael Ackerman, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Xu is a zebrafish expert who is using the nearly transparent fish as a model to study how organs grow under different genetic influences. The heart is especially visible, offering an ideal perspective to study how mutations affect the heart muscle. That's especially important to Dr. Ackerman, who is nationally regarded for his work in cardiac sudden death syndrome - an inherited condition which can suddenly kill those with a certain genetic mutation.

Their collaboration is a two-way street.

Michael Ackerman, M.D., Ph.D.

"We tell Dr. Xu about the cardiac mutations we discover in humans, he engineers them in fish, and then studies them to see how they affect heart development and performance," explains Dr. Ackerman. Then when Dr. Xu discovers a particular gene-linked abnormality in the zebrafish, Dr. Ackerman searches for similar defects in that gene in humans.

The goal is to be able to predict, diagnose and treat people with mutations that can cause heart failure. Because the first symptom of this condition may be sudden death, it's critical to learn as much as possible about inherited factors in heart disease. From the lab to the bedside, Mayo researchers remain focused on the needs of the patient.