Professor Dr. Rebecca Ahrens Nicklas

Biography

Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her BS in Pharmacology at Duke University in 2003, followed by her PhD in Physiology & Biophysics and MD at Weill Cornell Medical College in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Her post-graduate training included residency in Pediatrics and Medical Genetics at Children's Hospital Philadelphia, where she also served as a chief fellow and postdoctoral fellow. Ahrens-Nicklas's clinical expertise lies in inborn errors of metabolism, particularly those related to lysosomal storage disorders and cardiomyopathy. Her research focuses on understanding the basic biology of rare genetic disorders affecting the heart and brain, with the goal of developing new therapies for patients. By employing genetic, biochemical, and electrophysiological techniques, her lab investigates the mechanisms behind neurologic and cardiac dysfunction in patients with inherited metabolic disorders, evaluating the efficacy of various therapeutic strategies. She has published extensively on topics including cardiac thin filament assembly disruptions and fetal cardiomyopathy, contributing to advancements in the understanding and treatment of these conditions.

Research Interests

Experience