Kenneth B. Walsh

Associate Professor

Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Rochester, School of Medicine
Ph.D. University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine

Research Focus:

Dr. Walsh's laboratory studies the regulation of ion channels. These membrane proteins provide a high conductance pathway for the ion movement into and out of cells and are essential in controlling the electrical activity of muscle, nerve and endocrine tissues. The overall goal of this work is to understand how drugs and hormones regulate ion channel expression and function.

In one project, mutations are made in voltage-gated calcium channels that remove phosphorylation sites on the proteins. The mutated channels are then introduced back into cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes using recombinant adenoviruses. The mutant channels can be separated from the endogenous calcium channels because they are also insensitive to block by dihydropyridine (DHP) compounds such as nisoldipine. The goal of these studies is to understand how mutations in phosphorylation sites on the calcium channel affect the response of the myocytes to drug and hormonal treatment.

Recent publications:

• Walsh KB, Zhang J. Regulation of the cardiac volume-sensitive chloride channel by focal adhesion kinase and src kinase. American Journal of Physiology 2005; 289:H2566-H2574
• Walsh KB, Zhang J, Fuseler J, Hilliard N, Hockerman GH. Adenoviral-mediated expression of dihydropyridine-insensitive L-type calcium channels in cardiac ventricular myocytes and fibroblasts. European Journal of Pharmacology 2007; 565:7-16.
• Walsh KB, Zhang J. Neonatal rat cardiac fibroblasts express three types of voltage-gated K+ channels: regulation of a transient outward K+ current by protein kinase C. American Journal of Physiology 294:H1010-H1017, 2008.