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ESC Working Group on Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology


 

The ESC Working Group on Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology provides a friendly and informal environment favouring free exchange of ideas in the fields of cardiac ion channel physiology, excitation-contraction coupling, myocardial electrophysiology and related fields of cardiac physiology and pathophysiology.

New members are welcome to join the Working Group and participate in its activities.


Aims and Activities

Short description

  • The Working Group is among the Constituent Bodies of ESC and under its administration.
  • The WG Board is composed of a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer and a Nucleus of 8 members.
  • The Chairman's mandate is 2 years long, at its end the Vice-Chairman takes over and a new one is elected by the Nucleus.
  • The Nucleus renews its members by election between WG affiliates.
  • Only some of the Nucleus members are changed at each occasion. The Past-Chairman and the Organiser of the last WG meeting are by default part of the Nucleus.
  • A member of the Nucleus is elected to represent the WG in the Council of Basic Science of the ESC.

Goals

The major goal of the Working Group is to foster exchange of scientific information in the field of cellular electrophysiology.

The annual meeting is a forum for presenting new and unpublished data with emphasis on informal discussion. The younger scientists get the opportunity to present their work and are encouraged to actively participate.

The WG has been the catalyst for collaborations and exchange visits between European laboratories, as well as for establishing joint research proposals within the EC. 

At the annual meeting of the ESC, the WG contributes overview sessions of the latest developments in the field of cellular and molecular aspects of ion channel function, covering the basic properties as well as the clinical perspectives.

Research areas

General:

Structural and functional properties of ion channels and ion transport in cardiac myocytes

Specific: 

  • biophysical properties of (single) ion and gap junction channels
  • structure-function studies of ion channels
  • physiological modulation of cardiac excitability and impulse propagation
  • pharmacology of ion channels 
  • calcium homeostasis and excitation-contraction coupling
  • ionic mechanisms of arrhythmogenesis in ischemic syndromes
  • ionic remodelling during hypertrophy and heart failure

Nucleus 2024-2026

Member role Name Country Representative
Chairperson Daniel Johnson UK of Great Britain and Northern Ireland  
Chairperson-Elect & Treasurer Katja Odening Switzerland  
Past-Chairperson Jordi Heijman, FESC Austria  
Coordinator Cristina E Molina Germany  
Secretary Llewelyn Roderick Belgium  
Nucleus Member Marketa Bebarova Czechia  
Nucleus Member Giulia Campostrini Netherlands (The)  
Nucleus Member Simona Casini Netherlands (The)  
Nucleus Member Maria Fernandez-Velasco Spain  
Nucleus Member Leonardo Sacconi Italy  
Nucleus Member Luca Sala Italy  
Nucleus Member Niels Voigt, FESC Germany  
Nucleus Member* David Filgueiras-Rama Spain European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA)
Nucleus Member* Ana Gomez, FESC France  
*non-voting members

History

The European Working Group on Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology was founded in 1978 by Prof. E. Coraboeuf (Paris) and Prof. E. Carmeliet (Leuven), and this first nucleus soon also included Prof. S. Weidmann (Bern).

The first meeting took place in Leuven, bringing together all labs of Europe investigating the properties of the cardiac action potential and the underlying ionic currents.

This first meeting was attended by some 100 people, and the major goal was to share scientific information in order to advance research in a quickly developing field.

The passing of one of the founders, Prof. Coraboeuf, in September 1998, was fittingly remembered by a symposium organised by Prof. R. Fischmeister in Paris, in September 1999.

The meeting brought together scientists from all over the world, and demonstrated the immense progress that has been made in the field over the last 25 years.

Some 10 years after its founding, the working group became a member of the European Society of Cardiology.

Past Chairpersons

Chairperson City, country Mandate
Prof. Jordi Heijman, FESC Graz, AT 2022-2024
Dr. Ana Gomez, FESC Orsay, FR 2020-2022
Ass. Prof. Carol Ann Remme Amsterdam, NL 2018-2020
Prof. Dobromir Dobrev Essen, DE 2016-2018
Prof. Godfrey Smith Glasgow, UK 2014-2016
Dr. Paul Volders, FESC Maastricht, NL 2012-2014
Prof. Elisabetta Cerbai, FESC Firenze, IT 2010-2012
Prof. David A. Eisner, FESC Manchester, UK 2008-2010
Prof. Barbara Casadei, FESC Oxford, UK 2006-2008
Prof. Antonio Zaza, FESC Milan, IT 2004-2006
Dr. Sylvain Richard Montpellier, FR 2002-2004
Prof. Karin Spidio, FESC Leuven, BE 2000-2002
Prof. Alessandro Mugelli, FESC Firenze, IT 1998-2000
Prof. Ursula Ravens, FESC Dresden, DE 1996-1998
Prof. Guy Vassort Milan, IT 1994-1996
Dr. Hilary F. Brown Gairloch, UK 1992-1994
Prof. Lennart N. Bouman   1990-1992
Prof. Silvio Weidmann Bern, CH 1988-1990
Prof. Felix I.M. Bonke Bentveld, NL 1986-1988
Dr. de Hemptinne Bern, CH 1984-1986
Prof. Felix I.M. Bonke Bentveld, NL 1982-1984