Stanford School of Medicine
Molecular and
Cellular Physiology–

Areas of Research

AldrichRichard Aldrich
Molecular, biophysical and physiological mechanisms of ion channel function.  A multidisciplinary approach to understanding the physiology and biophysics of ion channels and electrically excitable cells using single-channel and macroscopic electrophysiology, spectroscopy, molecular biological manipulations, and transgenic animals. Lab website
BrungerAxel Brunger
Structural and biophysical studies of the protein machinery underlying neurotransmission.  X-ray crystallography and solution NMR studies of proteins involved in synaptic vesicle exocytosis and endocytosis, and receptor clustering in the post-synaptic neuron.  Single-molecule studies of the protein complexes in the context of biological membranes. Lab website
GoodmanMiriam Goodman
Mechanisms of mechano- and thermo-transduction in C. elegans.  Analysis of mutations in sensory transduction complexes using patch clamp recordings of identified neurons in vivo.  Structure-function and pharmacological studies of putative transduction channel proteins.  Patterns of gene expression in identified sensory neurons using single-cell RT-PCR.  
KobilkaBrian Kobilka
Molecular structure of adrenergic  receptors and conformational changes that mediate signal transduction.  Intracellular targeting and trafficking of adrenergic receptors.  Analysis of adrenergic subtype diversity in transgenic mice.  Lab website
LewisRichard Lewis 
Calcium signaling mechanisms in lymphocytes.  Generation of calcium signals by channels, pumps and organelles, and the effects of calcium dynamics on the specificity of T-cell gene expression.  In vivo calcium imaging with two-photon microscopy.  Patch-clamp studies of the biophysics and regulation of store-operated calcium channels.
MadisonDan Madison 
Mechanisms of synaptic transmission and plasticity in mammalian hippocampus using electrophysiological techniques.  Study of long-term potentiation and mechanisms underlying memory formation in the central nervous system. Lab Website
MaeukeMerritt Maduke
Structure and function of ClC-type chloride ion channels.  Direct structural studies of overexpressed bacterial ClC homologues.  Mechanistic studies, using macroscopic techniques and single-channel analysis, of eukaryotic ClC channels. Lab Website
NelsonJames Nelson
Mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of epithelial cell polarity.  Molecular and cellular analysis of protein sorting, cell-cell adhesion proteins, and interactions with the cytoskeleton. Lab Website
SmithStephen Smith 
Cellular mechanisms of brain development and function.  Analysis of dynamic structural aspects of synaptogenesis, synaptic plasticity and patterning of electrical activity in the brain using sophisticated optical imaging techniques. 
TsienRichard Tsien
Presynaptic signaling involving calcium channels, vesicular fusion and recycling.  Molecular communication between synaptic activity, local protein synthesis and long-range control of nuclear transcription.  Mechanisms of memory at the molecular, cellular and systems levels. 
WeissWilliam Weis
Biophysical and structural basis of cell adhesion, signaling, and vesicle trafficking processes. Lab website

 

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