Certain families of ligands potentially bind to the extracellular surface of channel proteins with high affinity and selectivity. Identifying and describing these interactions will make possible a controlled process for modifying the passage of ions through specific channels. Such controls will have immediate applications to the field of neurobiological research. If I can come up with these compounds and prove they interact with ion channels, I hope to launch a very broad program with biologists-neurbiologists, molecular and cell biologists. The advantage that synthetic organic chemistry brings to this field of research is the ability to make molecules by design and study their interactions with systems.
Biologists generally work only with compounds they can buy or find in nature.
Trauner earned his Ph.D. in 1997 at the University of Vienna, Austria. He is biding his time until Yosemite's tourist season subsides. As an Austrian, I love mountaineering, anything to do with mountains. I've been dreaming of Yosemite since I was ten years old, admiring the photos of Ansel Adams. The life of a synthetic organic chemist is filled with psychological challenges as well as scientific ones, according to Trauner.