Wayne S.R. Chen

Research in my laboratory is directed towards understanding the structure/function relationships and physiological roles of the calcium release channel (ryanodine receptor) (RyR) in cardiac function. Our current research interests focus on: (i) the molecular and cellular basis of cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death, (ii) the molecular actions of pro- and anti-arrhythmic drugs and the development of novel anti-arrhythmic therapies, (iii) the molecular mechanisms of RyR activation by cytoplasmic and luminal calcium, (iv) regulation of RyR by phosphorylation, calmodulin and other protein regulators; and (v) three-dimensional structure of RyR. Techniques used in our studies include site-directed mutagenesis, single channel recordings in planar lipid bilayers, fluorescence Ca2+ imaging, purification of recombinant RyR proteins for biochemical and structural studies, cryo-electron microscopy, and gene targeting in mice.