Deepa M. Gopal, MD, MS

My research program is focused on deep characterization of the obese-phenotype of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and deepening our understanding of the intersection of HFpEF and mitochondrial dysfunction. I help lead the Boston University METabolic Heart Disease Study (BUMETS), an observational cohort comprised of young individuals with obesity without prevalent heart failure. We have been following and phenotyping these individuals for over 10 years using echocardiography and biomarkers to identify preclinical HFpEF in this high-risk population. In addition, I am Co-Director of the Invasive Physiology & Hemodynamic Laboratory (IPH-Lab) with my interventional colleague, Dr. Nir Ayalon. In the IPH-Lab, we perform invasive cardiopulmonary exercise testing (iCPET), a comprehensive testing modality where patients perform supine ergometry with a cardiometabolic cart to quantify gas exchange and exercise capacity while simultaneously paired with invasive hemodynamics via Swan-Ganz catheters. We perform this testing in individuals with unexplained shortness of breath and often unmask early, exercise-induced HFpEF, a precursor stage to overt HFpEF. Harnessing these two cohorts with a multimodality approach using novel echocardiographic techniques (i.e., left atrial deformation imaging), exercise testing, and blood biomarkers we hope to develop a screening strategy to non-invasively identify preclinical HFpEF to direct therapeutics to mitigate the development of incident HFpEF. Outside the lab, I enjoy playing tennis, serving as assistant sports equipment hauler for my two boys, and playing lead chef in the Gopal’s Test Kitchen.