Washington University in St. Louis (WU)
Our research is focused on the chemical biology of membranes in health and disease. Biologic membranes are comprised of a structurally diverse array of thousands of distinct chemical entities in a bilayer configuration that are in constant motion providing a rich repertoire of chemical forces that can be used to modulate the conformation and function of transmembrane proteins such as ion channels and ion pumps. Through adaptation of a bilayer structure membranes serve as a hydrophobic scaffold for the organization of complex supramolecular chemical assemblies that are used in biologic systems as signaling platforms.