The Diver Lab

Most drugs target membrane proteins, accessible on the surface of cells, to alter the transport of ions and molecules and the transduction of cellular signals. We ask how do these poorly understood ion channel and transporter families permit ion flux? What protein movements are involved? Does their dysregulation play a role in disease?

explores the biological functions and molecular mechanisms of understudied transmembrane protein families with the goal of revealing critical knowledge about their roles in human physiology and disease.

These understudied proteins represent valuable potential drug targets for diseases, such as chronic pain and cancer, for which there is an urgent need to develop more effective therapeutic strategies.