Dean R. Madden PhD

Dean Madden, Ph.D., finds beauty in small things. A professor of biochemistry and cell biology, Madden's interests lie in understanding the fundamental characteristics of ion channels in terms of their molecular structures and their interactions with protein partners.

Essential physiological processes such as respiration, muscle contraction, and nerve signaling are driven by ions moving across the cell membrane and creating an electrochemical gradient, Madden explains. Special ion transporters establish and maintain the gradients, while ion channels exploit them. These ion channels are proteins found in a cell's membrane which create tiny holes that allow specific molecules or atoms to pass through. Madden and his lab group of nine scientists—seven graduate students and two post-doctoral fellows—are specifically interested in two of these channels: the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and the glutamate receptor ion channel.