Poul Nissen's lab

Lab background:

We study the structure and function of membrane proteins and biomembrane assemblies. Particular interest is in neuron-specific isoforms of Na,K-ATPases and Ca2+-ATPases maintaining fundamental electrochemical gradients across cell membranes and spending more than 50% of the energy in brain. We also investigate the structure and mechanism of lipid flippases that maintain asymmetric distributions of lipids between inner and outer leaflets of lipid bilayer membranes, and we study chloride transporters of the cation-chloride cotransporter family.

Available projects:

i) CryoEM studies of membrane protein complexes from neurons. Functional membranes of neurons such as dendritic spines, axon initial segment and synapses depend on the concerted function of membrane protein complexes.

ii) Drug discovery in neurological/neurodegenerative disorders. Disease mutant forms of pumps such as Na,K-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPases and interaction sites for toxic amyloids form potential targets for drug discovery than can be revealed by structural studies

Methods:

Cryo-electron microscopy, membrane protein crystallography, biochemistry

The successful applicant is:

Interested in molecular cell biology and the understanding of life sciences at the molecular level

Please contact Group Leader Poul Nissen directly, if interested.