The Directory of Research and Researchers at Brown: Anita L. Zimmerman

Our research is in molecular and cellular aspects of the nervous system, with an emphasis on ion channels and the early stages of vision in rods and cones. An ion channel is a membrane protein with an internal pore that opens in response to chemical and electrical signals, allowing passage of specific ions such as sodium and calcium. Ion channels are critically involved in functions as diverse as nerve impulses in the brain, the beating of the heart, visual perception, muscle contraction, learning and memory, hormone secretion and embryonic development. They are also the targets of many drugs, such as those used to treat pain and heart disease. Genetic defects in ion channels can cause devastating diseases, such as cystic fibrosis.

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Dr. Zimmerman received a BS in Zoology in 1978 at the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in Physiology & Biophysics in 1982 at the University of Miami Medical School. Her PhD thesis project was on the mechanism of cell-to-cell communication via gap junctions. Before arriving at Brown in 1987, she obtained postdoctoral training in Neurobiology at Stanford Medical School, where she began studying ion channels and visual transduction in rods and cones. With continuous NIH funding since 1988, she has extended this work to include molecular mechanisms and the application to retinal degenerative diseases. Dr. Zimmerman teaches cellular neurophysiology to first-year medical students, and also teaches in other graduate and undergraduate courses. She is Professor of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology & Biotechnology and Director of the M.D/Ph.D. Program.

She studies ion channels -- membrane proteins that control functions as diverse as the heart beat, nerve impulses in the brain, and hormone secretion. These protein molecules change shape in response to signals between cells or within cells. In one shape, a pore opens that allows ions like calcium and sodium to enter or leave cells, producing vital electrical and chemical signals. Ion channels are the targets of some drugs, such as those used to treat pain and heart disease, and their defects cause diseases, such as cystic fibrosis. Her lab uses molecular biology and electrophysiology methods to study channels cloned from the brain, retina and heart. These channels are opened by the binding of molecules called cyclic nucleotides. She studies the molecular mechanism of channel opening, as well as how other factors affect this process. Understanding how ion channels are regulated can help in the design of drugs or gene therapy protocols to treat many diseases.

She has always had a very strong interest in physics and math as they apply to biology and chemistry. This is a good way to combine them. Also, she is interested in how cells in the nervous system communicate with each other and with the outside world. Ion channels are key players in these processes.

Download Anita L. Zimmerman's Curriculum Vitae in PDF Format

ANITA L. ZIMMERMAN, PHD
Professor
Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology & Biotechnology
Phone: +1 401 863 2224
E-mail: Anita_Zimmerman@Brown.EDU

Anita L. Zimmerman's Brown Research URL:
http://research.brown.edu/myresearch/Anita_L._Zimmerman

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Research at Brown: The Directory of Research and Researchers at Brown: Research Profile