Description:

The Department of Pharmacology is pleased to welcome Dr. Henry M. Colecraft, Ph.D., Departments of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, and Pharmacology, Columbia University.

The following is an overview of this seminar, "Calcium Channel Engineering", as described by Dr. Colecraft:

High-voltage-activated calcium (CaV) channels transduce electrical signals to Ca2+ influx to control diverse biological processes such as muscle contraction, synaptic communication, and gene expression. Dysregulation of CaV channels underlies various cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and blocking their activity is an important therapy for conditions ranging from hypertension to pain. In this talk, I will discuss general ion channel engineering approaches we have developed to address outstanding fundamental questions related to CaV channel structure-function mechanisms, and to generate novel genetically-encoded molecules that inhibit their activity.