Awarded in 2018
Home Department: Chemistry
Faculty Advisors: Justin Du Bois (Chemistry) and John Huguenard (Neurology & Neurological Sciences)

Research Title: Understanding the role of voltage-gated sodium channels in neural hyperexcitability

Research Description: Management of neuropathic pain (NP) — a condition characterized by hypersensitivity and neural hyperexcitability — costs upward of $100 billion yearly in the US. Anna intends to elucidate the regulatory pathways responsible for NP by developing neurotoxin tools that target the cellular membrane ion channels related to NP.  This project combines the tools of synthetic chemistry, electrophysiology, imaging, and neurobiology to potentially reveal new pharmaceutical targets for modulating neuronal activity and inform future efforts in the development of NP treatments. 

WHERE IS SHE NOW?

Anna is a postdoctoral fellow in the molecular and cell biology department at the University of California, Berkeley.