Description:

Physiology welcomes seminar speaker, Zhaozhu Qiu, Ph.D., with Johns Hopkins University.

Abstract

Chloride is the most abundant free anion, however, chloride channels have long suffered as poor cousins in an aristocratic family of ion channels in neuroscience. For over 60 years, the field has been dominated by Na+, K+ and Ca2+ channels. Besides their role at inhibitory synapses, the function of chloride channels in the brain is poorly understood as their molecular cloning has lagged behind. There is growing evidence that aberrant chloride homeostasis impairs neuronal excitability and neurotransmission, thereby causing neurological disorders. Our lab develops high throughput functional genomics screening approaches and has successfully identified two novel chloride channels: SWELL1 volume-regulated anion channel and PAC proton-activated chloride channel. Our long-term goal is to reveal the molecular identify of diverse novel chloride channels and elucidate their fundamental role in the brain physiology and disease.