Lead Chief Investigator

Shin-Ho H Chung Visual Sciences, Research School of Biology, Australian National University

Project Title

Permeation of Ions Through Membrane Channels - Molecular and Stochastic Dynamics Studies

Brief Description for General Publications

We now know that many human diseases stem from malfunctioning biological ion channels, some of which are molecular targets for drugs. Because all electrical activities in the brain are regulated by the opening and closing of ion channels, understanding their mechanisms at a microscopic level is a fundamental problem in biology. Making full use of some recent technological and conceptual advances, we are studying, using computer simulations, how ions navigate through a narrow pore formed by protein molecules, how ion channels open and close and the way toxins and drugs influence the dynamics of ion permeation. From the results of extensive computer simulations, we propose to deduce mathematically the inner working details of membrane channels, information that may lead us to find the causes of and, possibly, cures for many of the neurological and muscular disorders. The research projects we have embarked upon can only be carried out with fast supercomputers.