This is unpublished

Michael
Lenaeus
MD
PhD

Michael Lenaeus
Faculty
Hospitalist
Pinned
Academic
Assistant Professor

Education & Training 

  • PhD, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL (2009)
  • MD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL (2010)
  • Internship and Residency in Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (2010–2013)

Honors

  • Graduated Summa Cum Laude from Gonzaga University (2003)
  • Best Research Poster, MSTP Retreat (2007)
  • Graduate Student of the Year, MPBC (2008)

Research 

Our team's research leverages cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and electrophysiology to study the voltage-gated sodium channel in the heart, Nav1.5, and its pharmacology. The primary focus is on the determination of the molecular basis of action for Class I anti-arrhythmic drugs (AAD), which are sodium channel blockers used to treat arrythmias in both the acute and chronic settings. To date, we have determined the structure of a prokaryotic sodium channel in complex with AAD and rat cardiac sodium channel in complex with flecainide and propafenone, allowing us to make comparison between the binding sites of these molecules and offer insight into their clinical uses. We are currently developing methods to study these drugs in complex with human Nav1.5 with the goal of using this information to inform current AAD use and future AAD development.  

Research Interests

  • Cardiovascular pharmacology
  • Cardiovascular Disease
  • Care of the hospitalized patient
  • Clinical reasoning
  • Membrane proteins and ion channels
  • Teaching students and medical residents

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