Department of Anesthesiology researchers Drs. Crina Nimigean and Simon Scheuring were invited speakers at the 2018 Gordon Research Conference on Ligand Recognition and Molecular Gating, held March 4-9 in Ventura, California.
The conference addressed the latest knowledge on the molecular mechanisms and physiological roles of three important classes of membrane proteins: ion channels, transporters, and G-protein coupled receptors. Dr. Nimigean, associate professor of physiology and biophysics in anesthesiology, and Dr. Scheuring, professor of physiology and biophysics in anesthesiology, discussed their research on an ion channel protein important for the understanding of signal transduction in the visual system, pacemaking in the heart, and neuropathic pain.
Dr. Nimigean presented "Ligand Gating in Potassium Channels." She was also an organizer of an informal session designed to help address the challenges faced by women in science.
Dr. Scheuring discussed "High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy (HS-AFM): Direct Visualization of Conformational Changes in Ligand Gated Ion Channels."
Also participating was Dr. Alessio Accardi, associate professor of physiology and biophysics in anesthesiology, who served as vice-chair for the conference and was the discussion leader for a session on late-breaking topics. Maria Falzone, a graduate student in the Accardi lab, gave a talk titled "Lipid Regulation of Scrambling by TMEM16 Proteins."
Posters were presented by Maria Falzone and Eva Fortea-Verdejo, graduate students in the Accardi lab, as well as Jan Rheinberger, a postdoctoral associate in the Nimigean lab.
The Gordon Research Conferences is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building communities that advance the frontiers of science. The conferences provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of frontier research in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences, and their related technologies.