The next NDSU Civil Engineering Seminar, “Correcting Diastolic Heart Failure with Omega-3 Fatty Acids,” is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 1 p.m. in Research 1 room 148/154. The presenter is Gregory Shearer, an associate scientist at the Cardiovascular Health Research Center of Sanford Research in Sioux Falls, S.D.

According to the abstract for his talk, Shearer will discuss how most heart failure historically is associated with decreased contractile function of the ventricle, which results in reduced cardiac output and associated morbidities. He notes increasingly, heart failure is characterized by impaired relaxation, which compromises refilling and consequently cardiac output can be impaired despite preserved contractility. The heart muscle responds to the afterload stress of high blood pressure by increasing the deposition of collagen between the myocytes, stiffening the muscle and impairing relaxation. The presentation will investigate the role polyunsaturated fatty acids derived from fish oils, or omega-3 fatty acids, play in preserving the diastolic function.

Shearer is also a faculty member at Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota. He is director of Physiology Core, Sanford Research. He earned his doctorate in human physiology from the University of California, Davis. Prior to joining Sanford Research, Shearer was a research scientist with the Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System. He has an extensive publication list and is the author of several patents. His research is supported through grants from the National Institutes of Health, GlaxoSmithKline and California Walnut Commission.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.