Justin Du Bois
Justin Du Bois
Student Invited Lecture
Thu, May. 21, 2015, 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Taylor Auditorium, Frick Laboratory
Host: GSO
Thu, May. 21, 2015, 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Taylor Auditorium, Frick Laboratory
Host: GSO
The Molecular Mystique of Nature’s Poisons
Small molecule neurotoxins serve as important chemical and pharmacologic tools for interrogating the highly complex ionic mechanisms of electrical transmission in cells. The voltage-‐gated sodium ion channel is a primary site of action for many of these poisonous substances. No less than six discrete receptor sites for neurotoxins have been identified on the pore-‐forming α-‐subunit of the channel. This lecture will attempt to illustrate how molecular design and chemical synthesis of toxins and toxin derivatives, together with the tools of molecular biology and electrophysiology, can be used to explore sodium channel structure and cellular function.