Nervous System and Brain Disorders

Prof. Bernard Attali

Prof. Attali, PhD, in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, was educated in France, and received a B.Sc/M.Sc. in Chemistry and Pharm.D. from Paul Sabatier University (Toulouse). He obtained his Ph.D. in Neurobiology from the Weizmann Institute of Science and performed his post-doctoral training at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France.

https://attalilab.com/

Channels in disease

Prof. Attali focuses on potassium channels since they play crucial roles in many cellular functions such as shaping cardiac and neuronal action potentials, tuning neuronal firing patterns, synaptic integration or modulating neurotransmitter release

Using the powerful combination of molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry and electrophysiology, his team’s research aims at elucidating the structural, biophysical and physiological attributes of potassium channels in human brain and heart His laboratory is a worldwide leader in studying Kv7 potassium channels, whose mutations lead to major neurological and cardiovascular disorders such as epilepsy, myokymia, atrial or ventricular fibrillation. Notably, he showed that SK4 Ca2 + -activated K+ channels are involved in the cardiac pacemaker activity and represent new targets for cardiac arrhythmias.