Washington University in St. Louis (WU)
My research focuses on developing agonists and antagonists that bind to individual neurosteroid (NS) binding sites on GABAA receptors. Neurosteroids are metabolites of cholesterol that bind to various ion channels and modulate their functions. Although multiple NS binding sites on GABAA receptors have been identified, there are currently no ligands that selectively bind to the individual NS sites to understand the physiological effects of these NS binding sites. We use photo-labeling, fluorescence and mass spec based techniques to screen for molecules that bind selectively to individual NS binding sites on GABAA receptors.