Just as a diverse and wonderful collection of ion channels is required to create the spark of life, the action potential, so the best science needs the teamwork of many diverse and talented people.*

We are committed to building a welcoming and empowering place for scientists of all backgrounds to follow their passion and make new discoveries.

*how’s THAT for a laboured analogy?!

Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, RWJMS; Resident Faculty at the Center for Advanced Biotechnology & Medicine, RBHS; Director of the CABM Program for Electrical Physiology and Pharmacology of Ion Channels (EPPIC).

I grew up in England and graduated from the University of Leeds with a BSc. in Pharmacology in 2008. After 3 years working in industry on drug discovery projects, I then completed my PhD at the University of Oxford, focusing on the structure, function, and pharmacology of K2P channels.

As a postdoc at Washington University in St Louis, I worked on understanding the basis of cardiovascular and myopathic disease in KATP channelopathies.

Postdoctoral Research Associate.

Vini obtained her Bachelor’s degree from Anna University, India, was a visiting scholar at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, completed her Masters’s at the University of Sheffield, UK, and her PhD from University of Lund, Sweden.

Vini is working on multiple projects, using patch clamp electrophysiology and other techniques to explore the consequences of KATP channel mutations and to identify potential therapeutic strategies.

PhD Student (Molecular Biosciences)

Joelle studied biology and biophysics at the College of Charleston, where she performed research in microbiology and extremophile biochemistry. She also had a short research assistant position in Dr. Anthony Keinath’s lab at the Clemson Coastal Research Center with a focus on Brassica pathogens before starting her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at Rutgers.

She is a fellow in the biotechnology training grant program, and currently studies potassium channel structure, modulation, and evolution.

PhD Student (Molecular Biosciences)

Originally from Nepal, Epsa earned her B.A. in Biology from Caldwell University before working as a Research Associate at NYU Langone Health, where she worked on antibody engineering and cancer therapeutics.

Her current research investigates how ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel dysfunction contributes to cardiovascular disease. Epsa is broadly interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying human disease and translating these insights into novel therapeutic strategies.

Part-time Research Assistant (former Undergraduate Researcher, completed Undergraduate Honors Thesis in Cell Biology and Neuroscience).

Kingsley Duru (Postdoctoral Fellow, 2022 - 2024) —> Postdoc at Victor Chang Institute, Australia.

Zahra Ahmed (Undergraduate Researcher) —> Medical School at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

Ashana Nayak (Undergraduate Researcher) —> Medical School at Rowan-Virtua SoM