William Clusin, MD

Clinical Focus

• Cardiology (Heart)
• Cardiovascular Disease

Administrative Appointments

• Consultant Cardiologist, Palo Alto VA Medical Center , (1994– present )
• Attending Cardiologist, Stanford Medical Center , (1981– present )
• Medical Director Adult ECG Laboratory, Stanford Medical Center , (2000– present )

Honors and Awards

• Overseas Fellow, Royal Society of Medicine (London) (2008)
• Member, NIH Cardiovascular Study Section (1988-1992)
• Associate Editor, Journal of Clinical Investigation (1988-1992)
• Fellow, American College of Physicians (1998)
• Fellow, American Heart Association (2001)
• Member, American Society for Clinical Investigation (1987)

Professional Education

• Board Certification: Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine (1981)
• SUMC - Graduate Medical Education (1981) CA
• SUMC - Graduate Medical Education (1980) CA
• Stanford University School of Medicine (1977) CA
• Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1976) NY
• MD, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Med. Medicine; Neuroscience (1976)

Research Interests

Cardiac action potentials; tissue culture, voltage, clamp technique; role of calcium in ischemia arrhythmias; coronary, artery disease; myocardial infarction.

Publications

• Mechanisms of calcium transient and action potential alternans in cardiac cells and tissues. Clusin WT,  Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol.  2008; 294 (1): H1-H10
• Low-dose growth hormone is cardioprotective in uremia. Rabkin R,  Awwad I, Chen Y, Ashley EA, Sun D, Sood S, Clusin W, Heidenreich P, Piecha G, Gross ML.  J Am Soc Nephrol.  2008; 19 (9): 1774-83
• Spatial heterogeneity of action potential alternans during global ischemia in the rabbit heart. Qian YW,  Sung RJ, Lin SF, Province R, Clusin WT.  Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol.  2003; 285 (6): H2722-33
• Calcium and cardiac arrhythmias: DADs, EADs, and alternans. Clusin WT,  Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci.  2003; 40 (3): 337-75
• Spatial heterogeneity of calcium transient alternans during the early phase of myocardial ischemia in the blood-perfused rabbit heart. Qian YW,  Clusin WT, Lin SF, Han J, Sung RJ.  Circulation.  2001; 104 (17): 2082-7
• Calcium channel blockers: current controversies and basic mechanisms of action. Clusin WT,  Anderson ME.  Adv Pharmacol.  1999; 46 253-96
• Calcium transient alternans in blood-perfused ischemic hearts: observations with fluorescent indicator fura red. Wu Y,  Clusin WT.  Am J Physiol.  1997; 273 (5 Pt 2): H2161-9
• Endothelin activates voltage-dependent Ca2+ current by a G protein-dependent mechanism in rabbit cardiac myocytes. Lauer MR,  Gunn MD, Clusin WT.  J Physiol.  1992; 448 729-47
• In vivo electrophysiological detection of myocardial ischemia through monophasic action potential recording. Mohabir R,  Franz MR, Clusin WT.  Prog Cardiovasc Dis.  1991 Jul-Aug; 34 (1): 15-28
• Effects of ischemia and hypercarbic acidosis on myocyte calcium transients, contraction, and pHi in perfused rabbit hearts. Mohabir R,  Lee HC, Kurz RW, Clusin WT.  Circ Res.  1991; 69 (6): 1525-37
• Effect of thrombin on calcium homeostasis in chick embryonic heart cells. Receptor-operated calcium entry with inositol trisphosphate and a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein as second messengers. Chien WW,  Mohabir R, Clusin WT.  J Clin Invest.  1990; 85 (5): 1436-43
• Effect of platelet release products on cytosolic calcium in cardiac myocytes. Chien WW,  Mohabir R, Newman D, Leung LL, Clusin WT.  Biochem Biophys Res Commun.  1990; 170 (3): 1121-7
• Use-dependent block of single sodium channels by lidocaine in guinea pig ventricular myocytes. McDonald TV,  Courtney KR, Clusin WT.  Biophys J.  1989; 55 (6): 1261-6
• Effect of Bay K8644 on cytosolic calcium transients and contraction in embryonic cardiac ventricular myocytes. Lee HC,  Clusin WT.  Pflugers Arch.  1989; 413 (3): 225-33
• Effect of ischemia on calcium-dependent fluorescence transients in rabbit hearts containing indo 1. Correlation with monophasic action potentials and contraction. Lee HC,  Mohabir R, Smith N, Franz MR, Clusin WT.  Circulation.  1988; 78 (4): 1047-59
• Mechanism of depolarization in the ischaemic dog heart: discrepancy between T-Q potentials and potassium accumulation. Blake K,  Clusin WT, Franz MR, Smith NA.  J Physiol.  1988; 397 307-30
• Cytosolic calcium transients from the beating mammalian heart. Lee HC,  Smith N, Mohabir R, Clusin WT.  Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.  1987; 84 (21): 7793-7
• Cytosolic calcium staircase in cultured myocardial cells. Lee HC,  Clusin WT.  Circ Res.  1987; 61 (6): 934-9
• What is the solution to sudden cardiac death: calcium modulation or arrhythmia clinics? Clusin WT,  Cardiovasc Drugs Ther.  1987; 1 (4): 335-42