Vikram G. Shakkottai is assistant professor in the department of Neurology. Dr. Shakkottai's research focuses on alterations in cerebellar physiology in the cerebellar ataxias. Defining early physiologic changes in the ataxias is important because such changes represent therapeutic targets for symptomatic and preventive treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. His lab seeks to tie changes in neuronal firing properties to defects in specific ion channel proteins. Merely demonstrating that neurons have changes in firing properties would have a limited impact on therapy; after all, in a degenerative disorder one would expect that global cellular dysfunction would also lead to changes in membrane properties. They seek to identify specific changes in the properties of ion channels and whether compensating for these changes using ion channel modulators can restore normal physiology and improve motor function.