Wednesday, March 26, 2025 — On Wednesday 26th March 2025 at 15.30 to 16.30 PM, i3L hosted an online power talk event with the topic of “Drugs We Use to Treat Disorders of Heart Rhythm”. The speaker for this event is Dr. Claire Hepburn from Dundee University, UK and moderated by Alisha Triana Meswari Nasier, Head of i3L International Office. The powertalk was attended mostly by the Biomedicine students and faculty members.

During the powertalk, Dr. Hepburn explained how the heart’s rhythmic contractions depend on a precisely coordinated series of electrical changes in cardiomyocytes (heart cells), regulated by the impulse conduction system. When these electrical impulses become uncoordinated, an arrhythmia occurs, disrupting the normal heart rhythm. She discussed the different causes and types of arrhythmias, which can result from abnormal impulse formation or conduction. Diagnosis is typically performed using an electrocardiogram (ECG). She also explained that treatment often involves anti-arrhythmic drugs that act on ion channels in heart cells to restore normal electrical activity.