Christopher Ahern
Professor - Molecular Physiology & Biophysics The University of Iowa
Christopher Ahern is the Professor of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics at the University of Iowa, who’s research focuses on the function and pharmacology of voltage-gated sodium channels, which drive the rapid upstroke of the action potential throughout the body. His work is motivated by the link between inherited or acquired defects in these membrane proteins and conditions such as cardiac arrhythmia, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain syndromes.
His laboratory operates at the interface of membrane biophysics and chemical biology, with particular expertise in synthesising and expressing ion channels containing tailored non-natural amino acids. He applies chemical biology approaches to study voltage-gated channels, enabling deeper insight into channel behaviour.
He has successfully incorporated synthetic amino acids into a wide range of channel and receptor systems, supporting pharmacological studies of ligand and drug interactions, as well as investigations into structure-function relationships.
Seminars
- Revealing how neuronal and skeletal muscle sodium channel isoforms are differentially expressed across cardiac tissues beyond the canonical NaV1.5 paradigm
- Demonstrating how disease remodeling and pharmacological perturbation alter sodium channel composition to influence cardiac arrhythmia risk
- Applying protein engineering and ion channel pharmacology approaches to improve safety assessment for next-generation voltage-gated sodium channel therapeutics
