MARX, STEVEN O., M.D.
Steven O. Marx, M.D., is the Director of the Cardiovascular Fellowship Program at Columbia University Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and is director of the cardiology component of a NIH training grant for cardiology fellows and surgery residents.
His research program in cardiovascular diseases at Columbia has been focused in two major areas: molecular cardiology, particularly the regulation of ion channels in normal and pathological conditions in the heart, and vascular biology, particularly the molecular mechanisms of vascular smooth muscle proliferation, migration and contractility. Working with others at Columbia, Dr. Marx has identified rapamycin (sirolimus) as a therapeutic agent for preventing restenosis after angioplasty/stent implantation. He also characterized the dysfunction of the ryanodine receptor in heart failure. A major focus of Dr. Marx's current research is the regulation of arterial contractility and blood pressure by the ion channels.
Steven O. Marx, M.D.
Professor of Medicine (in Pharmacology)
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology
Columbia University
Dr. Marx received his B.S. in Biology from Union College and M.D. from Albany Medical College as part of a six-year program. Following a one-year postdoctoral fellowship in ion channel research at Johns Hopkins, he completed an internship and residency at the University of Rochester-Strong Memorial Hospital followed by a Cardiology Fellowship and a Clinical Electrophysiology Fellowship at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology. He is also the principal investigator of several NIH R01 grants and a T32 grant. Dr. Marx has served on NIH and AHA peer review committees, is a member of the AHA Founders Affiliate Research Committee, and serves on the New York Academy of Medicine Glorney-Raisbeck Selection Committee.
The Marx laboratory studies the regulation of ion channels by macromolecular complexes. We have demonstrated that specific sequences within the ion channel (leucine zippers) recruit regulatory proteins, which modulate the ion channel function in normal and pathologic conditions. The laboratory is now focused on understanding the molecular components and functional implications of macromolecular complex formation of the large conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (BKCa, maxi-K) and the L-type voltage gated calcium channel. The laboratory utilizes both molecular biologic and electrophysiologic (planar lipid bilayer, patch clamp) techniques to elucidate these fundamental processes and emphasizes the links between these fundamental molecular processes and systems function. To date our work has had significant impact in understanding the triggers of fatal cardiac arrhythmias and mechanical dysfunction in heart failure. Present experiments are very likely to impact our understanding of control of peripheral blood pressure by the sympathetic nervous system.
HONORS & AWARDS
PUBLICATIONS
Selected Publications
1. Lehnart SE, Huang F, Marx SO, Marks AR.Immunophilins and coupled gating of ryanodine receptors. [Review.] Curr Top Med Chem.
2. Marx S. (2003) Ion channel macromolecular complexes in the heart. [Review.] J Mol Cell Cardiol. 3(12):1383-91.
3. Kass RS, Kurokawa J, Marx SO, Marks AR. (2003) Leucine/isoleucine zipper coordination of ion channel macromolecular signaling complexes in the heart. Roles in inherited arrhythmias. [Review.] Trends Cardiovasc Med. 35(1):37-44.
4. Marx SO, Marks AR. (2003) Regulation of the ryanodine receptor in heart failure. [Review.] Basic Res Cardiol. 13(2):I49-51.
5. Marks AR, Marx SO, Reiken S. (2002) Regulation of ryanodine receptors via macromolecular complexes: a novel role for leucine/isoleucine zippers. [Review.] Trends Cardiovasc Med. 12(4):166-70.
6. Marks AR, Reiken S, Marx SO. (2002) Progression of heart failure: is protein kinase a hyperphosphorylation of the ryanodine receptor a contributing factor? Circulation. 105(3):272-5.
1982 Westinghouse Science Talent Search Semi-Finalist
1986 Magna Cum Laude, Biology/Sociology
1988 Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA)
1994-1995 American College of Cardiology/Merck Fellow
1995 American College of Cardiology, NYS Chapter Young Investigator Award
1995 Astra-Merck Young Investigator's Forum Second Prize in Basic Research
1994-1995 John C. Sable Memorial Heart Fund Research Award
1995 The Denber Prize for Research, Mount Sinai Cardiovascular Institute
1996 Katz Award Finalist, American Heart Association
1996-1997 Glorney-Raisbeck Fellowship of the NY Academy of Medicine
1996-2001 Clinician-Scientist Award, American Heart Association