I am particularly interested in how transmembrane alpha-helices assemble and interact in low dielectric environments. Defects in either the KvLQT1 or minK proteins can result in potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias. This work includes biochemical analysis of the KvLQT1-minK channel complex. My laboratory also collaborates with Dr. Lisa Freeman in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at KSU to study the effects of glycosylation on KvLQT1-minK function.
Purple residues are identical, blue are conserved, green have no homology.
Other projects in my lab include collaborations with Dr. John Tomich in the Department of Biochemistry at KSU and Dr. Bruce Schultz in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at KSU in several areas relating to cystic fibrosis research. This work involves designing and characterizing synthetic amphipathic alpha-helical peptides that form channels in planar lipid bilayers and in epithelial cells from various origins. These peptides may be potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. We use a variety of techniques including whole-cell patch clamp analysis, planar lipid bilayer analysis, circular dichroism spectroscopy, protein chemistry along with molecular modeling to study how these membrane proteins assemble and interact. In addition, we study the expression of CFTR and other ion transport proteins in vas deferens and pharmacological modifiers of CFTR and ion transport in CFTR-affected tissues.