Ion Channel Clustering Mechanisms

The aim of the study is to investigate the organization of ion channels in the membranes of excitable cells by scaffold proteins, and to discover how the properties of the channels are modified by these interactions. The work will encompass major structural and proteomic techniques as well as techniques relevant to biotechnology including biochemical assays, protein over-expression and purification, liquid chromatography, bioinformatics and reconstitution. The studentship will use computational and structural biology techniques to investigate the molecular architecture involved in the generation and propagation of electrical signals in cell membranes.