Jinxin Victor Pei is the Molecular Pharmacology Highlighted Trainee Author for the May 2019 issue. Dr. Pei is a post-doctoral trainee with the University of Adelaide. His mentor is Dr. Andrea Yool. The Molecular Pharmacology article that earned his selection as a Highlighted Trainee Author is titled “Development of a Photoswitchable Lithium-Sensitive Probe to Analyze Nonselective Cation Channel Activity in Migrating Cancer Cells” and is available at https://doi.org/10.1124/mol.118.115428.

Dr. Pei’s research concerns aquaporins (AQP) and the development of biological sensors targeting these channels.  He is currently working on a project to use his recently published lithium sensor, as described in the May 2019 issue listed above, to screen the ion permeability of 13 human and plant aquaporins. This is important because although aquaporin was discovered 30 years ago, this will be the first time that the ion channel function of all human aquaporins has been examined.

Because there is emerging evidence that aquaporins play an important role in cancer angiogenesis and migration, the anticipated impact of Dr. Pei’s research is that it may help future studies to establish AQP as an important therapeutic target for future cancer drug development.     

When not in the lab, Jinxin enjoys photography and collecting ancient coins.