Publications
Research Team
Aida Calderon, MS, PhD
Assistant Research Scientist
Aida’s work during her MS, PhD and postdoc in Mexico was focused on the study of the structure and regulation of the Voltage Gates Ion Channels using electrophysiology, biochemistry and molecular biology tools. Her research with the Khanna Lab involves the characterization of ion channels as therapeutic targets for the treatment of pathological conditions.
Paz Duran, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Paz got her master’s degree and her PhD in Cell Biology at CINVESTAV, Mexico City, Mexico. In her masters, she studied the regulation of L-type calcium channels by the cGMP-PKG signaling pathway. Her PhD focused on studying the regulation in the expression of the Cavα2δ-1 subunit of calcium channels by epidermal growth factor (EGF). She has worked with Rajesh Khanna as a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Arizona looking for alternatives to treat chronic pain by targeting regulators of ion channels.
Santiago Loya, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Santiago comes from Mexico. He is focused on the study of different channels through electrophysiology (patch clamp) both in current clamp and voltage clamp. He has worked both in brain and dorsal root ganglia studying the regulation of ion channels by different proteins and drugs to better understand and potentially treat some of the diseases related to alterations on such channels.
Kimberly Gomez, MS, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Kimberly performed her MS in Neuropharmacology and her PhD in Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Mexico City. For these two projects, she studies the regulation of voltage-gated calcium channels in pain. After that, she joined Rajesh Khanna’s Lab as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Arizona. Here she has been studying the post-transitional regulation of CRMP2 and its role in ion channel trafficking in pain.
Samantha Perez-Miller, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Since joining the Khannas at University of Arizona in 2014, Samantha says it has been exciting to see the wide array of projects of her 18 year structural biology career converge in the complex systems involved in neurodegeneration and pain pathobiology. She is thrilled to join them at NYU to continue this adventure.
Cheng Tang, PhD
Assistant Research Scientist
Cheng earned his PhD from Hunan Normal University, China. As an Assistant Research Scientist in Khanna Lab, his work is focused on clarifying the structure-function relationships and pharmacology of various types of ion channels as well as developing novel analgesics for pain treatment.