Dr. Piggott [Lefkofsky Family Fellow] is exploring the role of ion channels in brain cancer. Ion channels function as a “gate” to regulate the movement of ions (such as sodium and potassium) into and out of the cell.  They are essential for proper cell growth and signaling in normal cells, and misregulation or mutations in ion channels have been linked to cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. Her goal is to obtain mechanistic insight into the function of ion channels in brain tumors, which may provide new targets for diagnosis and therapeutic intervention.