Biophysics is one of the fastest growing areas in natural sciences. It studies physical phenomena underlying a variety of biological and physiological processes, on a sub-cellular and cellular, organismal, or even entire ecosystems’ level. Some of the examples include plant photosynthesis, muscle contraction, the hydrodynamics of the cardiovascular system, neural signaling and brain function. In these studies biophysicists combine methods from physics, mathematics, chemistry and biology.
The Biophysics Lab at Loyola is devoted to research on transport across cellular membranes. All living cells in order to survive and to perform their physiological functions continuously exchange various atoms and molecules with the extracellular medium. Of particular importance are ions such as sodium, potassium or calcium. Their controlled exchange with the extracellular medium is crucial to action potentials in neurons, muscle contraction, etc. Since the cellular membrane is normally impermeable to ions, their exchange is facilitated by special proteins, called the ion channels, which are embedded in the membrane and form gated microscopic pores.
The focus of our research is to better understand the three-dimensional structure of these proteins and their nonequilibrium properties. We know they can detect certain environmental factors, such as changes in electric field, presence of certain ligands or even mechanical stress, and can open or close in response to these factors (ion channel gating). This way they can control and regulate various physiological processes. We use the technique of patch-clamping and recent advances in mathematics and statistical physics to better understand and characterize the process of channel gating.
Several students from different departments have been assisting in the lab. Current student members of the lab:
- Meagan Relle (Biology)
- Brian Lavoie (Biology)
- Stella von Meer (Physics, currently a graduate student in neuroscience)
- Joseph Phillip (Biology)
