The main research interests in the department include G-Protein Coupled Receptors, Cell Signalling, Neuroscience, and Ion Channels.  There is considerable overlap and frequent collaboration between these areas both in terms of the intellectual and technical/methodological eg the use of cell signalling expertise to address pathways involved in modulation of ion channels.

The approaches extend from 'the molecule to the system' and include studies on the properties and signalling of native and recombinant receptors and ion channels, second messenger assays, yeast two hybrid analysis, transgenic mice, development of advanced cellular imaging methods, confocal microscopy, and voltage and patch clamp electrophysiology in a variety of excitable cells.   This scientific environment in the Department provides a continuum of both ideas and approaches (combining traditional and molecular techniques) across a range of topics to give an excellent opportunity for postgraduate study in molecular physiology and pharmacology.

The receptor and cell signalling group utilises wide-ranging approaches to understand the family of G-Protein Coupled Receptors as well as work on tyrosine kinases.  The use of recombinant techniques is routine and most projects use human receptors expressed in a variety of cell lines and intact tissues.  Over the years the group has developed a number of sophisticated techniques to study cell signalling and there is increasing use of advanced imaging and transgenic technology on many of the projects.

The ion channel and electrophysiology group has a similar strategy of extending molecular and cellular approaches to understand ion channel structure-function relationships, the binding sites for drugs on ion channels, and the role of these proteins in intact tissues.  There is a strong emphasis on the role of ion channels in cardiovascular and neuronal physiology and pharmacology. 

Research collaborations are enabled through the College research themes, eg cardiovascular, respiratory, neuroscience, cellular and molecular biosciences, which provide a focal point for integrating fundamental and translational research.  There are also active collaboration links with other academic departments, particularly Biochemistry in respect to cell signalling and ion channel structure and Cardiovascular Sciences, which provide access to a wide range of data relating to human cardiovascular disease, eg genome-wide (SNP) associations in individual diseases, access to clinical material etc.  There is also a growing emphasis on basic and clinical repiratory and neuroscience research within the College following their inception as research themes.