Volume 30 · Number 4 · Summer 2013
The young and the inventive: Toby Allen
Toby Allen, associate professor of chemistry
Education: Ph.D., Australian National University, 1998
Specialty: Cell membrane proteins known as ion channels
Toby Allen is using advanced computer simulation models to research ion channels, which allow for the movement of salt ions across cell membranes and are essential for electrical and chemical activity in all organisms.
The activity facilitated by ion channels makes possible heartbeat, sensation, muscle contraction, hormonal activity, immune response and brain activity. “Without these biological transistors, life would not exist as we know it,” Allen said. “They control our hearts and our minds, and understanding how they work is one of the most important questions of all.”
At the same time, when things go wrong, the effects can be devastating. Ion channels functioning abnormally are also thought to be responsible for many neurological, cardiovascular, muscular, metabolic and respiratory disorders.
Which is why much cutting-edge medical research uses these ion channels as a starting point for pharmaceutical intervention.
Allen, who earned his doctorate in theoretical physics, said his work has widespread significance, including attacking viral infections; the actions of antimicrobial agents and toxins that are used as therapeutic agents; the effects of pharmacological agents on membrane protein function that will assist in the development of side-effect free medicines; as well as for the design of functionalized nano-devices to be used for efficient drug and gene delivery and biosensing applications.
“I have provided new theoretical descriptions of cell membranes,” Allen said, “challenging models that have stood for the better part of a century, and setting the stage for a new level of understanding of membrane charge transport processes.”
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