Ion Channels and Membrane Transport in Health and Disease (OXION)

Hege Ekeberg Larsen (2011-2016)

Hege E. Larsen joined the OXION program in 2011 after a degree in pharmacology at the University of Manchester. During her rotations she worked with Prof David Paterson and Prof Kieran Clarke, before embarking on her D.Phil project with Prof David Paterson and Dr Ed Mann. Her project is looking at the neuronal control of cardiac excitability in disease models such as hypertension. Hege has, in collaboration with Dr Rebecca Burton and Dr Gil Bub, developed a novel co-culture preparation of neonatal ventricular myocytes and cardiac sympathetic stellate neurons. Using molecular biology and electrophysiological measurements she will use this co-culture preparation to study the direct and indirect communication between the myocyte and the neuron in health and disease. Hege is a Graduate Scholar at St Catherine’s college where she is also a Junior Dean and an active rower.

Lukas Groschner (2013 - Present)

Lukas studied medicine at Graz, Austria, where he first embarked on ion channel research in the laboratory of Prof Wolfgang Graier. Captivated by the intricacy of cellular signalling processes Lukas joined the OXION Ion Channels and Disease DPhil programme in 2013. Having completed a mini-project on cell type-specific mechanisms of sodium channel gating with Prof Patrik Rorsman, Lukas has now redirected his research focus to the neural basis of decision-making. In the laboratory of Prof Gero Miesenböck he uses in vivo patch clamp recordings and two-photon calcium imaging along a variety of molecular techniques to elucidate the biophysical underpinnings of sensory integration and decision-making within the brain of the fruit fly. The multidisciplinary OXION programme provides a stimulating environment for his project at the interface between cellular biophysics and systems neuroscience.