Professor
Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Ion channel kinetics and structure; Ion Transport; Membrane Biophysics; Membrane Transport (Ion Transport); Molecular and Cellular Biology; Molecular Basis of Disease
We study the regulation of ion transport in epithelia. We are interested in a sodium channel expressed in many epithelia throughout the body. In the kidneys, this channel and its regulation modify renal sodium excretion and body sodium balance. We are interested in mechanisms which control channel activity and more specifically, in the mechanism of channel activation from the extracellular space by extracellular proteases. Our lab is also interested in the translational aspect of channel activation and specifically in the discovery of biomarkers of proteolytic channel activators. These biomarkers can likely report on channel activation in vivo and in this case, can serve can predictors of human hypertension. We are also interested in humans isoforms of the channel that when expressed modify its baseline activity as these can serve as potential models for human hypertension.