Brighton Cafe Scientifique

The Hard Science of Herbal Medicine: Understanding Botanical Therapeutics at the Molecular Level with Dr Rían Manville on Wednesday 13 December. Doors open 7:15, talk starts at 8:00pm.
Most of us have used or know someone who has used a folk remedy to treat an ache, pain, or chronic illness. But have you ever wondered, “How does that actually work?”. Well, it turns out that many of these plants have medicinal properties because of their ability to interact with your ion channels.
In our lab, we investigate the molecular mechanisms of medicinal plants used to treat diseases such as epilepsy, ataxia, high blood pressure, and even addiction. This talk will guide you through some of the fundamental discoveries we have made and what’s in store for the future!
Dr. Rían Manville is a Research Fellow in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Our lab uses a multidisciplinary approach aimed at understanding the molecular etiologies of, and ultimately developing therapies for, human diseases arising from ion channel dysfunction.