In my lab, we use time-resolved laser spectroscopy and mass spectrometry to understand how ions bind to molecules and proteins. We are applying this molecular-level knowledge to understand how mutations to ion binding sites in signaling proteins can cause a wide range of diseases including cancer, Alzheimer's, and heart disease. This is an exciting area because many different proteins use ion binding sites that are similar to one another; if we can build a model of how changes to one binding site cause disease, we will likely be able to use that model to understand how ion binding sites contribute to malfunction in many different diseases.
