David L. Stokes, PhD

Our laboratory is interested primarily in the molecular mechanisms of membrane transport. We use a variety of methods to study active transporters that directly use ATP as an energy source as well as secondary transporters that couple transport to the electrochemical gradient. Current transporters under study include the KdpFABC complex from bacteria that is responsible for active import of potassium, the YiiP transporter, also from bacteria, that uses the proton motive force to export zinc and the Bor1p transporter from yeast that imports borate. We have solved structures of each transporter using either X-ray crystallography or Cryo-EM and have used activity assays to characterize the functional parameters of transport. We are currently exploring a variety of experimental and computational approaches to characterize the conformational changes that accompany transport, with the goal of ultimately developing a comprehensive understanding of the transport cycle from both structural and energetic perspectives.