Because they regulate what gets into cells, they are also the favorite target of toxins, for example from venomous snakes. They are also the favorite target of drugs developed to fight disease.
Epithelial sodium channels, which regulate sodium into and out of the cell, were first described in 1991. If sodium channels are too active, more salt gains entry to the cells, ultimately causing an increase in blood pressure. On the other hand, if the channels are not active enough, it can lead to salt wasting and hypotension, or abnormally low blood pressure.
A career in research
From the time he was a child, Stockand wanted to know how things work, often taking things apart to figure them out. His road to a career in biology began, ironically enough, when his high school biology teacher tired of his mischievous behavior. She removed him from the class and assigned him an independent research project to work on instead.
He loved doing the independent project and headed to a career in research. Dr. Stockand attended Texas A&M as an undergrad, did his graduate work at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and his postdoctoral work in physiology and biophysics at Emory University.
Stockand has developed new biophysical approaches to research sodium channels and has made advances in the use of fluorescent microscopy to aid in this research. His laboratory is equipped to perform real-time measurement of ion channel activity.