Dr. Dina Simkin is an Research Assistant Professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine whose research mainly focuses on how on how mutations in ion channel proteins contribute to pediatric epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Simkin earned her BS in Biochemistry, and then proceeded to earn PhDs in Neuroscience, Biophysics, and in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology. She additionally completed post-graduate training in both the neurophysiology of aging and stem cell-derived neuronal models of epileptic channelopathy.
In this episode, Dr. Simkin tells us about her early interest in science, how she came to focus on ion channel gene mutations linked to epilepsy and neurodevelopment disorders, what ion channels are and why they are so important, and how she and her lab team study them. She also shares advice for high school students.
Related resources:
Untangling Cellular Changes in Pediatric Epilepsy
Paper on unexpected results involving M current and homeostasis
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