Fayal Abderemane, PhD

Dr. Abderemane’s research group studies ion channel function in health and disease, with a focus on voltage-gated sodium channels (NaVs) in cancer metastasis. NaVs are de novo expressed in various aggressive cancers, but their role in metastasis remains unclear. His lab investigates how NaVs form macromolecular complexes that influence cancer progression using biophysics, imaging, proteomics, and structural biology. By uncovering the molecular mechanisms of NaV function in cancer, his research aims to identify novel therapeutic targets for metastatic disease and advance more effective treatments.

Structure of the human K2P13.1(THIK-1) channel reveals a novel hydrophilic pore restrict on and lipid cofactor site. Roy-Chowdhury S, Jang S, Abderemane-Ali F, Naughton F, Grabe M, Minor DL Jr. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. (in press); bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Jun 27:2024.06.26.600491. doi: 10.1101/2024.06.26.600491. PMID: 38979306 

EMC chaperone-CaV structure reveals an ion channel assembly intermediate. Chen Z, Mondal A, Abderemane-Ali F, Jang S, Niranjan S, Montaño JL, Zaro BW, Minor DL Jr. Nature. 2023 Jul;619(7969):410-419. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06175-5. Epub 2023 May 17. PMID: 37196677

Definition of a saxitoxin (STX) binding code enables discovery and characterization of the anuran saxiphilin family. Chen Z, Zakrzewska S, Hajare HS, Alvarez-Buylla A, Abderemane-Ali F, Bogan M, Ramirez D, O'Connell LA, Du Bois J, Minor DL Jr. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Nov;119(44):e2210114119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2210114119. Epub 2022 Oct 24. PMID: 36279441

Differential effects of modified batrachotoxins on voltage-gated sodium channel fast and slow inactivation.  MacKenzie TMG, Abderemane-Ali F, Garrison CE, Minor DL Jr, Bois JD. Cell Chem Biol. 2022 Apr 21;29(4):615-624.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2021.12.003. Epub 2021 Dec 27. PMID: 34963066

Evidence that toxin resistance in poison birds and frogs is not rooted in sodium channel mutations and may rely on "toxin sponge" proteins. Abderemane-Ali F, Rossen ND, Kobiela ME, Craig RA, Garrison CE, Chen Z, Colleran CM, O'Connell LA, Du Bois J, Dumbacher JP, Minor DL. J Gen Physiol. 2021 Sep 6;153(9):e202112872. doi: 10.1085/jgp.202112872. Epub 2021 Aug 5. PMID: 34351379