Stephen Chelko has studied the pathology behind arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. Chelko’s work was published in Science Translational Medicine and shows promising avenues for prevention of the disease.

“There is some awful irony in that exercise, a known health benefit for the heart, leads to cell death in ACM subjects,” said Chelko. “Now, we know that endurance exercise, in particular, leads to large-scale myocyte cell death due to mitochondrial dysfunction in those who suffer from this inherited heart disease.”

• Stephen Chelko