My research has two primary goals. The first is to elucidate the molecular basis of visual excitation and adaptation. The basic approach is to use electrophysiological and pharmacological techniques to study phototransduction of individual photoreceptor cells. The second, done in collaboration with Dr. Terasaki, is to study membrane disruption and repair using combined electrophysiological and optical techniques.

Not accepting students for Lab Rotations at this time

Lab Rotation Projects Fein/Terasaki Lab Cell Wounding Project We have developed an electrophysiological method for studying plasma membrane wound repair in single cells. Large plasma membrane disruptions in starfish oocytes, made by femtosecond pulses from a Ti-Sapphire laser, are repaired within a few seconds as shown by stabilization of membrane electrical properties and restoration of dye exclusion. The membrane potential after wounding is sensitive to the extracellular Cl- concentration but not to that of Na+, K+ or H+ indicating that Cl- permeable intracellular membranes have fused with the plasma membrane. We believe that cell wounding provides a novel means for the electrophysiological analysis of chloride permeable intracellular membranes that have been translocated to the plasma membrane.

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