Our research group is interested in understanding how the brain represents the external world. We are working in the cellular and molecular neuroscience of sensory systems, with a focus on olfaction. The olfactory system detects and discriminates among a large number of structurally diverse odorant molecules that carry information about the environment. The initial steps of olfaction occur in olfactory sensory neurons located in the olfactory epithelium of the nasal cavity. Some animals also have a separate accessory olfactory system, whose primary sensory neurons are found in the sensory epithelium of the vomeronasal organ. We study the molecular mechanisms that transform the chemical odorant signal into the electrical messages that are transmitted to the brain.

Another research interest centers on ion channels in health and disease. We study a family of proteins called bestrophins: the name derives from Best vitelliform macular dystrophy (VMD2, Best disease), a heritable form of retinal degenerative disease characterized by a loss of central vision. Some bestrophins seem to function as calcium-activated chloride channels. The determination of the role of the VMD2 protein in healthy conditions and in the Best disease is a necessary step for a better understanding of how our visual system works, and toward the development of therapeutic interventions.
To address these questions we use an interdisciplinary approach and the following techniques: patch-clamp electrophysiology, calcium imaging, molecular biology, immunohistochemistry and computational studies.