![](https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-web/medschool-wpcontent/sites/24/2019/07/03122743/Clowes-Katherine_photo1920-e1562165255997.jpeg)
Kate Clowes
University of Kentucky
Chuck Sanders Lab
My research focuses on the potassium channel KCNQ1. Loss of function mutations in KCNQ1 cause Type 1 Long QT Syndrome (LQT1), a heart rhythm disorder that increases risk of arrhythmias and cardiac arrest. I plan to study the effect of LQT1-associated mutations in KCNQ1 on protein stability and trafficking, and develop a method to screen for drugs that restore stability and trafficking of destabilized KCNQ1 mutants.