Organisers

• Mounir Tarek (CNRS / NANCY Universite)
• Mark Sansom (Uni Oxford)

Supports

 CECAM

Description

Ion channels play a key role in the physiology of both excitable (e.g. neurons, muscle, heart) and non-excitable (e.g. pancreas, bacteria) cells. They provide pathways for fast (107 ions s-1) and controlled flow of selected ions. Channels may be gated, i.e. regulated, by a number of factors including e.g. lateral pressure, pH, transmembrane voltage and/or binding of ligands.The aim of the workshop is to bring together experimentalists and modelers in order to relate the progress made so far and to devise new synergies aimed at:

1. Understanding fundamental physical mechanisms of ion channel processes including permeation, selectivity and gating; and

2. Relating atomic resolution structures of ion channels to their physiological function.


Three main topics will be covered

– Design principles and properties of model systems & nanotubes.
- Realistic transport modeling – multiscale approaches vs. ‘brute force’ MD?
- Conformational change – gating (insights from both experimental and theoretical investigations)

Scientific Objectives