Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and of Biomedical Engineering Ph

My main interest is in gating and ion permeation in the ionic channels of excitable cell membranes and in how the structure of channel proteins give rise to these properties.

In our laboratory, we develop new electronic and computer techniques for sensitive electrical measurements of ion channel currents and apply these techniques, along with biochemical and molecular biology tools, to the study of the function of ion channel proteins.

We are also working on structural studies of ion channels using high-resolution electron microscopy.

Selected Publications: "Life's transistors," F.J. Sigworth, Nature, 423, 21-22 (2003).

Three-dimensional structure of the type 1 inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor at 24 A resolution," Jiang, Q.-X., E. C. Thrower, D.W. Chester, B.E. Ehrlich, and F.J. Sigworth, EMBO J., 21, 3575-3581 (2002).

"Micromolded PDMS planar electrode allows patch clamp electrical recordings from cells," K.G.Klemic, J.F. Klemic, M.A. Reed, and F.J. Sigworth, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 17, 597-604 (2002).

"Applying hidden Markov models to the analysis of single ion channel activity," L. Venkataramanan and F.J. Sigworth, Biophys. J., 82, 1930-1942 (2002).