Megan O'Mara

	Postdoctoral Fellow
		Department of Theoretical Physics Research School of Physical Sciences & Engineering The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200 Australia Biophysics Group Le Couteur Building Telephone +61 2 6125 2029 Fax: + 61-2- 6125 4676 E-mail: megan.omara@anu.edu.au

Research Interests 

Ion channels produce the electrical impulses that regulate the brain and nervous system. The electrical currents produced by ion channels control all sorts of things like the beating of our hearts, the ability to contract muscles and our sensory perception of pain or pressure.

There are many diseases that are caused by genetic mutations of ion channels, such as epilepsy, cardiac arrhythmias and renal disease. To try and correct the devastating effect of these diseases, we must determine how the ion channel mutations responsible for a particular disease alters the production of an electrical signal.

My research uses computational techniques to determine the physical basis of ion permeation through biological ion channels. In particular, I use techniques such as homology modelling, Brownian dynamics and molecular dynamics to model different types of ion channels and determine the mechanism of ion permeation.

For further details of my research please go to the Biophysics Group's home page, at http://langevin.anu.edu.au/