Irena Levitan

Biography

Irena Levitan has completed her PhD and is a Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her current research focuses on cholesterol regulation of ion channels and cellular biomechanics. Her group has provided the first comprehensive structural insights into cholesterol regulation of K+ channels and the cross-talk between cholesterol and other regulators of these channels. She was named a Guyton Distinguished Lecturer by the Association Chairs of Departments of Physiology for her quantitative and biophysical work on cholesterol modulation of ion channels and how this can affect integrated organ function. She is an author of more than 70 publications and a leading Editor of Cholesterol Regulation of Ion Channels and Receptors (Wiley, 2012) and Vascular Ion Channels in Physiology and Disease (Springer, 2016). Irena Levitan has completed her PhD and is a Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her current research focuses on cholesterol regulation of ion channels and cellular biomechanics. Her group has provided the first comprehensive structural insights into cholesterol regulation of K+ channels and the cross-talk between cholesterol and other regulators of these channels. She was named a Guyton Distinguished Lecturer by the Association Chairs of Departments of Physiology for her quantitative and biophysical work on cholesterol modulation of ion channels and how this can affect integrated organ function. She is an author of more than 70 publications and a leading Editor of Cholesterol Regulation of Ion Channels and Receptors (Wiley, 2012) and Vascular Ion Channels in Physiology and Disease (Springer, 2016).

Research Interest

Her current research focuses on cholesterol regulation of ion channels and cellular biomechanics