Miller Lab
Principal Investigator: Evan Walker Miller
Institution: University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
The importance of membrane potentials is most widely recognized in electrically excitable cells in organs like the brain, the heart, and muscles. However, all cells maintain a membrane potential. Small differences in these electric fields have been linked to enhanced cell signaling, differentiation, development, control of circadian rhythms, modulation of ultradian rhythms, regulation of cell volume, proliferation, cell cycle progression, metastatic potential of cancerous tumors, and more. Across all cell types, up to 50% of the cellular ATP budget is spent on setting the membrane potential via the action of the ATP-powered Na+/K+ exchanger. Despite the massively expensive energy expenditure put out by cells to maintain this electrical potential, a clear picture of the details of how bioelectrical signals and potentials shape physiology outside of the brain remains elusive. The lack of readily implemented methods to reliably measure membrane potential values has limited progress in the field of understanding how bioelectrical signals shape cellular physiology outside of the context of the brain. A vast ecosystem of electrical signals outside of the brain exists between and within c…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R35GM153237-03: Chemical Approaches to Visualize and Quantify Cellular Physiology (2026)
- 5R01NS098088-10: Interrogating Neuronal Membrane Potential Dynamics with Optical Voltage Sensors (2026)
- 5R35GM153237-02: Chemical Approaches to Visualize and Quantify Cellular Physiology (2025)
- 3R01NS098088-09S1: Interrogating Neuronal Membrane Potential Dynamics with Optical Voltage Sensors (2025)
- 5R01NS098088-09: Interrogating Neuronal Membrane Potential Dynamics with Optical Voltage Sensors (2025)
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