
Dr. Crina Nimigean, a professor of physiology and biophysics in anesthesiology, has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Kenneth S. Cole Award from the Biophysical Society. The award recognizes Dr. Nimigean’s seminal contributions to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of ion channel function, regulation, and modulation; her outstanding mentorship of young scientists; and her service to the community. Past Cole awardees include multiple Nobel prize winners, HHMI investigators, and members of the National Academy of Sciences, underscoring the significance of this recognition.
“I am excited and honored to get this award and grateful to my community for this recognition," said Dr. Nimigean. "Having attended most of the Cole award ceremonies at the Biophysical Society meetings since I was a graduate student, seeing my name next to scientists I revered my whole life is an amazing feeling.”
Dr. Nimigean's research is geared toward understanding how ion channel protein structure and mechanism interrelate at the molecular level to allow channels to elaborate various biological properties. Ion channels are ubiquitous proteins that allow the passage of ions across cellular membranes. Their function is vital to a variety of physiological processes such as cell excitability and the propagation of nervous stimuli. Defective ion channel function is associated with a wide range of human neuromuscular disorders as well as dysfunction of other systems. Over the years, Dr. Nimigean’s work has shed light into fundamental properties of diverse ion channels, such as how they select for their substrate, how they open and close in response to their physiological stimuli, and how they are modulated by the lipid constituents of the membrane environment and by small molecules. For example, Dr. Nimigean’s work uncovered the mechanisms of how calcium-activated potassium channels terminate signaling while the activating stimulus is still present, a process called inactivation that is essential for the generation of action potentials and for the regulation of neuronal firing rates. More recently, the Nimigean lab discovered how propofol, a widely used anesthetic, can restore the function of defective ion channel associated with epilepsy. This discovery might pave the way for the development of novel therapies to treat this disorder.
Dr. Nimigean holds a B.S./M.S. degree in Physics from Bucharest University, Romania and a Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from the University of Miami. After postdoctoral training at Brandeis University, her first faculty position was at the University of California at Davis. Dr. Nimigean joined the Department of Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine in 2008.