Professor Richard Baines
The development of electrical properties in neurons; Drosophila melanogaster models; homeostatic regulation of excitability; the role of Pumilio protein in sodium channel translation; manipulating splicing of voltage-gated sodium channels to reduce epilepsy severity.
Prof Richard Baines is a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Manchester and is part of the Institute’s Scientific Advisory Committee. Prof Baines’ research investigates the mechanisms that regulate and stabilise the electrical development of neurons. A primary question his research addresses is how neural networks maintain stability of function in the face of ever-changing synaptic connectivity. He uses the embryo and larvae of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, because it is very amenable to genetic manipulation, the complete genome is sequenced, and because it provides a simple, yet effective, model of the human nervous system.
