The University of Houston College of Pharmacy recently welcomed Christian Egly, Pharm.D., Ph.D., as an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Egly completed his Pharm.D. at Purdue University College of Pharmacy before pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical pharmacology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he undertook a postdoctoral fellowship and concurrently a Ph.D. in pharmacology. Later, he served as a research instructor in Vanderbilt's Division of Genetic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology.
Egly's research focuses on cardiac ion channel biology and personalized approaches
to treating Long QT Syndrome, a cardiac disorder associated with abnormal electrical
activity that puts patients — especially children — at risk for dangerous, sometimes
fatal, cardiac arrhythmias. His work has included developing high-throughput screening
methods to identify drugs that improve trafficking of the KV11.1 potassium channel,
with the goal of developing treatments for Long QT Syndrome.
Supported by a grant from the Saving Tiny Hearts Society, Egly's new project is focused on repurposing evacetrapib — a cholesterol drug that failed phase III clinical trials for efficacy but was well tolerated in patients — as a potential new treatment for Long QT Syndrome. Egly's lab discovered that the drug can correct the cardiac Kv11.1 potassium ion channel in a way current treatments can't. This grant funds lab testing using heart cells grown from patient stem cells to identify which patients would benefit, moving the work closer to clinical trials.
Egly has authored or coauthored 11 peer-reviewed publications in such journals as the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Molecular Pharmacology, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Clinical Investigation Insights, and Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement.
His research has been presented at national and international scientific meetings, including the Leducq International Consortium Meeting, Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), American Heart Association (AHA), Association for Clinical and Translational Sciences, U.S. Human Proteome Organization, and Biophysical Society annual meetings.
Among his honors are the Heart Rhythm Society Young Investigator Award finalist recognition, Association for Clinical and Translational Sciences Top 50 abstract recognition, U.S. Human Proteome Organization Lightning Talks Winner award, Pediatric and Adult Congenital Electrophysiology Society (PACES) Young Investigator Award, and HRS Cardiac Electrophysiology Society Young Investigator Poster Award finalist recognition. Egly is an active member of AHA, HRS, and PACES.