Dr Alison Clarke
BSc (Hons) (Melb) PhD (U. Mass)
Senior Research Officer
Ion Channels and Human Diseases Group
Contact Details
Email: | |
Phone: | +61 (0)3 8344 1863 (office) |
Phone: | +61 (0)3 8344 0461 (laboratory) |
Fax: | +61 (0)3 9347 0446 |
Research Interests
- Structure/function of ion channel proteins
- Ion channels and human disease
- Development of drug treatments for human disease
- Fatty acid modulation of ion channels
Laboratory Techniques
- Micro-dissection (eg. dissection of pial arteries from neonatal rats)
- Membrane potential recordings in vascular smooth muscle cells-microelectrode techniques
- Immunocytochemistry
- Organ bath pharmacology
- Patch-clamping techniques: whole-cell and single channel
- Roboocyte operation
- Isolation of single vascular smooth muscle cells from rabbit pulmonary arteries
- Analysis of single channel data
- Two electrode voltage clamp techniques
- Expressing cRNA in Xenopus oocytes
- Basic molecular biology, ie. running RNA gels, making RNA, growing up plasmids
- Brain slicing of rat and mouse brains
- Single and paired electrophysiological recording of neurons in rat and mouse brain slices
- Staining and tracing of single neurons in brain slices following injection of E-GFP- sinbus virus into whole brain
- Primary neuronal cultures
Additional Information
- Prizes/Fellowships
- 1991-1997 Postgraduate PhD salary award. University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester MA 01655
- 1995-2000 Wrote a large portion of a successful NIH RO1 grant that funded the Singer and Walsh laboratory
Publications and Articles
Selected Publications
Clarke A., Edwards FR., Hirst GDS and Silverberg GD. Developmental changes in the resting membrane potential of rat cerebral arteries. In: Resistance arteries, structure and function. MJ. Mulvany, C. Aalkjaer, AM Heagerty, NCB. Nyborg and, S. Strandgaard. Eds. Elsevier Science Publishers, NY, 1991.
Clarke AL., Petrou S., Walsh JVJr. and Singer JJ. Modulation of BKCa channel activity by fatty acids: Structural requirements and mechanism of action. Am. J. Physiol Cell 283:C1441-C1453, 2002.
Doolan GK., Panchal RG., Fonnes EL., Clarke AL., Williams DA. and Petrou S. Fatty acid augmentation of the cardiac slowly activating delayed rectifier current (IKs) is conferred by hminK. FASEB J. 16:1662-1664, 2002.
Clarke A.L., Walsh JVJr. and Singer JJ. Site of action of fatty acids and other charged lipids on BKCa channels smooth muscle cells. Am. J. Physiol Cell 284: C607-C619, 2003.
Rogers S., Chandler, JD., Clarke AL., Petrou S. and Best J. Glucose transporter GLUT 12 –functional characterization in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 308: 422-426, 2003.
Gu BJ, Sluyter R, Skarratt KK, Shemon AN, Dao-Ung LP, Fuller SJ, Barden JA, Clarke AL, Petrou S, Wiley JS. An Arg307 to Gln polymorphism within the ATP-binding site causes loss of function of the human P2X7 receptor. J Biol Chem. 2004. 279(30):31287-95.
Shemon AN, Sluyter R, Fernando SL, Clarke AL, Dao-Ung LP, Skarratt KK, Saunders BM, Tan KS, Gu BJ, Fuller SJ, Britton WJ, Petrou S, Wiley JS.. A Thr357 to Ser polymorphism in homozygous and compound heterozygous subjects causes absent or reduced P2X7 function and impairs ATP-induced mycobacterial killing by macrophages. J Biol Chem. 2006. 281: 2079-2086.
Liu L, Zheng T, Morris MJ, Wallengren C, Clarke AL, Reid CA, Petrou S, and O'Brien TJ.
The mechanism of carbamazepine aggravation of absence seizures. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2006 Nov;319(2):790-8.
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