Ion Channels and Nanopores: From Structure to Function

Almost every single process in the human body is controlled at some level by electrical signals, from the way our hearts beat, the way our muscles move, to the way we think. These electrical signals are generated and controlled by a family of proteins called 'ion channels' which reside in the membrane of every living cell and which act as 'electrical switches' to control the selective movement of charged ions like potassium (K+) and Sodium (Na+) into and out of the cell.

Work in our lab uses a range of multidisciplinary approaches (molecular biology, electrophysiology, single-molecule fluorescence, molecular dynamics and crystallography) to study the structure and function of these channels. We have a range of projects available to people with physics, engineering, computing, biochemistry and physiology backgrounds.

This project investigates how the unusual behaviour of water within the nano-sized pore of an ion channel influences its behaviour and falls under the EPSRC Biophysics and soft matter physics theme.