Channel Surfing

Credit: Amy Lee Lab

Calcium channels in the brain play a key role in learning and memory. When these molecules don’t interact normally with surrounding proteins, cognitive deficits can arise, such as in autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia. Amy Lee, a University of Texas professor of neuroscience, is exploring potential drugs or gene therapies that target this interaction. The same types of calcium channels also exist in the heart, regulating the heartbeat, so she is using 3D structures of these molecules and computational modeling to search for targeted therapies that don’t have unintended side effects on the heart.