April Ellis

Biography

 Dr. Ellis has assisted in the development of a combinatorial library of designed calcium binding proteins based on rat cell adhesion CD2.  In the initial stages of her graduate work, she characterized a metal-binding near infrared dye, which has been published in Talanta.  Further research included the development of protein-based calcium sensors for in vivo studies on the temporal and spatial distribution of calcium in the cytosol and cellular compartments.  In this work, she designed calcium-binding sites into a non-calcium-binding scaffold protein to further understanding of the key factors of calcium binding, such as ligand type and location. Dr. Ellis has been awarded an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship and a Brain and Behavior Predoctoral Fellowship during her career.

Research Interest

protein-based calcium sensors