Thompson Lab

We are interested in mechanisms of neuronal death during stroke and other neurodegenerative disorders. Currently, the focus is on a large ion channel called Pannexin-1, which has properties similar to some gap junction channels. The main goals of the research are to understand how pannexin-1 is activated during stroke, to determine what the consequences of its activation are, and to investigate its normal physiological roles. To do this, we use state-of-the-art techniques including molecular biology, patch-clamp electrophysiology and in vivo multi-photon microscopy.