Biophysical Society Bulletin | April 2018

Publications

Know the Editor Henry M. Colecraft

Online Journal, continued from Page 1

The journal will include articles on generalized education, educational research, current topics in teaching and effec- tive practices in the classroom, laboratory techniques, men- toring and leadership, biophysics history and perspectives on the field, curricula and program development, tutorial articles on specific topics in biophysics, software notes and applications, new technologies and digital instructional tools, assessment methods, as well as viewpoints, book reviews, letters to the editor, and more. The journal also will address effective practices in the classroom through written and video documentation. The Society looks forward to this exciting new opportunity, which will further the BPS vision of biophysics as an inter- disciplinary scientific discipline that develops the quantita- tive methods and techniques needed by scientists as they seek fundamental understanding of the biological, chemical, and physical mechanisms of life. The Biophysicist will be the vehicle by which biophysicists can educate, and be educat- ed by, their peers in the pursuit of enhancing the learning process that will lead to discovering basic scientific insights, solving biological problems and, eventually, curing disease. — Angela M. Gronenborn , Society President — Olaf Andersen , Publications Committee Chair Figure360 Biophysical Journal is now accepting

Columbia University Medical Center Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics Editor, Channels and Transporters

Henry M. Colecraft

What are you currently working on? My lab works on modulation of voltage-gated ion channels — in particular voltage-gated Ca 2+ (Ca V ) and K + (K V ) channels — by intracellular signaling proteins, auxiliary subunits, and post-translational modifications. Modulation of ion channel activity is not only a powerful way to regulate the physiologi- cal state (e.g., increased rate and contractility of the heartbeat during exercise), but also an important avenue for therapeutic interventions (e.g., the potent analgesic effects of opiates). Ongoing projects include seeking mechanistic understanding of regulation of Ca V and K V channel trafficking and activity by auxiliary subunits, phosphorylation, and ubiquitin. What has been your most exciting discovery as a biophysicist? One very satisfying project involved our study of mecha- nisms underlying profound inhibition of Ca V channels by a four-member family of Ras-like G-proteins referred to as RGK proteins. The RGK proteins are extraordinary in their capacity to virtually eliminate all high-voltage-activated Ca V channels when over-expressed in any excitable cell. We sought to understand and exploit their mechanism of action to develop a general method for generating novel genetically encoded Ca V channel inhibitors (GECCIs) for customized, and possibly therapeutic, applications. We found that RGK inhibition of Ca V channels had a dual requirement — binding to a cytosolic auxiliary Ca V β subunit that interacts with an intracellular loop of pore-forming Ca V α 1 subunits, and simultaneous associ- ation of the RGK to the plasma membrane via a polybasic C-tail. This insight led us to develop a general method termed ChIMP — channel inactivation induced by membrane-teth- ering an associated protein — for developing novel GECCIs. Excitingly, the approach appears widely applicable to develop custom genetically encoded modulators for a broad cohort of ion channels.

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April 2018

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