Overall, my interest is in the area of ion channel function and the roles ion channels play in cells.  My current research focuses on the mechanisms of deactivation of the HERG potassium channel.  HERG (Human Ether-a-go-go Related Gene) is a voltage-gated potassium channel found in the heart and brain.  It is also a primary component of the cardiac delayed rectifier K+ current (IKr).  Cardiac IKr helps to repolarize the ventricular action potential by conducting an outward K+ current whose amplitude is determined, in part, by the closing (deactivation) rate of the channel.   Deletion of the HERG1a N-terminus region (amino acids 2-354) leads to a channel (HERGD2-354) with very rapid deactivation kinetics compared to wild-type HERG1a channels.

I received my BA in Neuroscience, with a concentration in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, from the Johns Hopkins University in 2001.  Following graduation, I worked for several years doing intake and screening for human research subject studies through the National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program in Baltimore, MD.  I entered the PhD program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 2004, joining the Trudeau lab in January 2006, and advancing to candidacy in July 2006.