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Susan L. Hamilton, Ph.D.
Susan L. Hamilton is currently Professor and Chair of the
Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston, Texas. She received her BS in Chemistry in 1971 from
Indiana University and her PhD in Biophysics in 1976 from the University
of Colorado Medical Center in Denver, Colorado. After her postdoctoral
training with Dr. Arthur Karlin at Columbia University, she was appointed
Assistant Professor in the department of Physiology and Biophysics at the
University of Texas Medical Branch Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. In
1985 Hamilton moved to the Department of Molecular Physiology and
Biophysics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and was appointed
Professor in 1997. In that same year she was also appointed Section Head
for Biophysics in the department and in January 2000 she assumed the role
of Interim Chair.
The research group led by Hamilton is studying the molecular mechanisms
of excitation-contraction coupling in skeletal and cardiac muscle, with
particular emphasis on the structure and function of the two ion channels
(the transverse tubule voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel and the
sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release channel) involved in this
process. To elucidate the structure and function of these proteins,
Hamilton’s group has combined techniques of molecular biology, biochemistry,
electrophysiology, Ca2+ imaging, and cryo-electron
microscopy/image reconstruction. An important aspect of this research is the
analysis of how mutations in these proteins contribute to the human
diseases, Malignant Hyperthermia, and Central Core Disease.
Hamilton has been a member of APS since 1996, serving on the editorial
boards of both American Journal of Physiology - Cell Physiology and
Physiological Reviews. She has been continuously funded by NIH since
1980 and was the recipient of a Research Career Development Award from 1987
to 1992. She is currently the director of a NIH training program in
cardiovascular science. She served on NIH Physiological Chemistry Study
Section from 1994 to 1998 and was Chair of this study section from 1996 to
1998. She has been a member of the scientific advisory board of the Muscular
Dystrophy Association since 1995.
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