Dr. Karakikes is an Assistant Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford. He completed his PhD at the University of Essex and a postdoc at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. Karakikes runs an active basic science laboratory that studies the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathies and heart failure. His group has extensive expertise in patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-based disease models, genome editing and gene therapy. His current research focuses on the generation of isogenic iPSCs using genome-editing technologies to unravel the pathogenesis of familial and acquired cardiomyopathies. The overarching goal of his studies is to better understand the underlying mechanisms and develop tailored therapeutic approaches.