User:Helen C. Lai
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Biography
- UC San Francisco, Ph.D. in the Laboratory of Dr. Lily Jan
- Postdoc in the Johnson Lab
Research Interests
Ion Channels
For my graduate work, I determined structural constraints for the hyperpolarized state of the six-transmembrane voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channel, KAT1, from Arabidopsis thaliana. I conducted a conditional lethal/second-site suppressor screen that identified mutations in close proximity as determined by the rescue of functional channels in a yeast growth assay. A structural model of Kv channel packing emerged from these constraints that withstands experimental verification. This model together with existing data lends mechanistic insight into the structure and mechanism of voltage-gated ion channels.
Developmental Neuroscience
I am currently trying to determine the transcriptional regulatory code and downstream targets of Atoh1, a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor involved in differentiation and cell type specification of neurons in the spinal cord and cerebellum.
Publications
- Lai HC, Grabe M, Jan YN, and Jan LY. The S4 voltage sensor packs against the pore domain in the KAT1 voltage-gated potassium channel. Neuron. 2005 Aug 4;47(3):395-406. DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2005.06.019 |
- Lai HC and Johnson JE. Neurogenesis or neuronal specification: phosphorylation strikes again!. Neuron. 2008 Apr 10;58(1):3-5. DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2008.03.023 |
- Lai HC and Jan LY. The distribution and targeting of neuronal voltage-gated ion channels. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2006 Jul;7(7):548-62. DOI:10.1038/nrn1938 |
- Panteleeva I, Boutillier S, See V, Spiller DG, Rouaux C, Almouzni G, Bailly D, Maison C, Lai HC, Loeffler JP, and Boutillier AL. HP1alpha guides neuronal fate by timing E2F-targeted genes silencing during terminal differentiation. EMBO J. 2007 Aug 8;26(15):3616-28. DOI:10.1038/sj.emboj.7601789 |
- Grabe M, Lai HC, Jain M, Jan YN, and Jan LY. Structure prediction for the down state of a potassium channel voltage sensor. Nature. 2007 Feb 1;445(7127):550-3. DOI:10.1038/nature05494 |
- Serber Z, Lai HC, Yang A, Ou HD, Sigal MS, Kelly AE, Darimont BD, Duijf PH, Van Bokhoven H, McKeon F, and Dötsch V. A C-terminal inhibitory domain controls the activity of p63 by an intramolecular mechanism. Mol Cell Biol. 2002 Dec;22(24):8601-11. DOI:10.1128/MCB.22.24.8601-8611.2002 |
- Ou HD, Lai HC, Serber Z, and Dötsch V. Efficient identification of amino acid types for fast protein backbone assignments. J Biomol NMR. 2001 Nov;21(3):269-73. DOI:10.1023/a:1012920832184 |
Contact info
Helen C. Lai
Department of Neuroscience
UT Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Blvd., NA 4-146
Dallas, TX 75390-9111
Helen.Lai@utsouthwestern.edu
Lab 214-648-1874