Edward McFalls, M.D., Ph.D.

Edward McFalls (mcfal001@umn.edu) is Chief of Cardiology at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis and has been Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota since 2002. He received his MD at Hahnemann Medical School in Philadelphia in 1980, his internal medicine Training at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1983 and his cardiology fellowship training at Oregon Health Science University in Portland in 1987. He received a British-American Heart Association grant in 1987 and using Positron Emission Tomography, did research involving hibernating myocardium at Hammersmith Hospital in London. He received his Ph.D. in coronary physiology at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. Since 1991, he has been a staff cardiologist at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis, and has played an active role in the teaching and research through the University of Minnesota. He has had continuous funding of his clinical programs, through the VA Cooperative Studies Program and his basic research lab, with grants from the VA Merit Review and NIH. His clinical interests involve perioperative medicine. His basic science lab is involved with understanding mitochondrial adaptations in response to chronic myocardial ischemia that may alter reactive oxygen species and bioenergetics.

Papers that have resulted in a 1^st-authorship from a mentored relationship:

Cabrera JA, Ziemba EA, Colbert R, Sikora J, Anderson L, Sluiter W, Duncker DJ, Crampton M, Ward HB, Kelly R, McFalls EO. Altered expression of mitochondrial proteins and improved energetics during late ischemic preconditioning. American Journal of Physiology;2012;302:H1974.
Cabrera JA, Butterick TA, Long EK, Ziemba EA, Anderson LB, Duffy CM, Sluiter W, Duncker DJ, Zhang J, Chen Y, Ward HB, Kelly RF, McFalls EO. Reduced expression of mitochondrial electron transport chain proteins from hibernating hearts relative to ischemic preconditioned hearts in the 2nd window of protection. Journal of Molecular Cellular Cardiology; 2013;60:90.
Garcia S, Marston N, Sandoval Y, Pierpont G, Adabag S, Brenes J, Santilli S, McFalls EO. Prognostic value of 12-lead EKG & peak troponin I after vascular surgery. J. Vasc Surg. 2013;57:166.
Garcia S, McFalls EO. Need for elective PCI prior to noncardiac surgery: high-risk through the eyes of the beholder. Journal of the American Heart Association. 2014;26:e001068.
Colbert RW, Holley CT, Hocum Stone L, Crampton M, Adabag S, Garcia S, Iaizzo PA, Ward HB, Kelly RF, McFalls EO. The Recovery of Hibernating Hearts Lies on a Spectrum: from Bears in Nature to Patients with Coronary Artery Disease. J. Cardiovascular Translational Research. 2015;8:244.
Butterick TA, Hocum-Stone L, Duffy C, Holley CT, Cabrera JA, Crampton M, Ward HB, Kelly RF, McFalls EO. Pioglitazone increased PGC1-alpha signaling within chronically ischemic myocardium. Basic Research Cardiology. 2016;111:1.
Hocum Stone L, Butterick TA, Duffy C, Swingen C, Ward HB, Kelly RF, McFalls EO. Cardiac Strain in a Swine Model of Regional Hibernating Myocardium: Effect of CoQ10 on Contractile Reserve Following Bypass Surgery. J Cardiovascular Translational Research. 2016;9:368.
Garcia S, Rector TS, Zakharova M, Herrmann RR, Adabag S, Bertog S, Sandoval Y, Santilli S, Brilakis ES, McFalls EO. Cardiac Remote Ischemic Preconditioning Prior to Elective Vascular Surgery (CRIPES Trial). J Am Heart Assoc. 2016;5:10.
Nguyen JT, Vakil K, Adabag S, Westanmo A, Madlon-Kay R., Ishani A, Garcia S, McFalls EO. Hospital Readmission Rates Following AMI: Potential Interventions to Improve Efficiency. Southern Medical Journal. 2018; 111:93.

Potential Research projects available within the McFalls Laboratory include the following:

To develop strategies to improve outcomes in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery
To test the benefit of a stem-cell based therapeutic approach in Hibernating Myocardium
To advance an understanding of mitochondrial proteomics in ischemic heart tissue