Rebecka Sepela

I am interested in understanding how specific ionic conductances integrate during pathophysiological and physiological signaling events. To interrogate the broadly applicable mechanisms that underly how ionic flow is modulated and how it drives signaling events, I am currently using the octopus as a model system. The unique touch-taste chemotactile sensation of octopus tightly tethers the peripheral detection of a chemical cue with a neurological behavior.  Additionally, the unique abundance of post-transcriptional RNA modifications found within ion channels permits natural structure-function studies. Together these two instances of evolutionary novelty provide an ideal background for determining how ion channels work, how their function can be modulated, and what happens when their function changes.