Biochemical Journal Young Investigator Award

Rosalyn Johnson

Currently, Rosalyn Johnson is conducting her doctoral research in the Smooth Muscle Research Group at the University of Calgary, Canada, in the laboratories of Dr. William Cole and Dr. Michael Walsh. Rosalyn graduated from McMaster University with a BSc in 2003, majoring in Biology and Pharmacology. During that time, she completed co-operative education work terms at Health Canada and in the Department of Pharmacology at Cardiome Pharma Corp. Rosalyn then returned to McMaster to complete an undergraduate thesis with Dr. Ian Fearon, where she examined mechanisms underlying the acute oxygen sensitivity of tandem-pore domain potassium (K⁺) channels.

Rosalyn's doctoral research is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie the regulation of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) delayed rectifier K⁺ (K_DR) channels by vasoactive agonists. Rosalyn has identified a novel protein kinase A phosphorylation site on the Kv1.2 a-subunit, which is known to contribute to heteromultimeric K_DR channels in the vasculature, and is currently examining the importance of this regulation in the control of vascular tone. Rosalyn’s research also involves identification of non-channel proteins that form functionally important signalling complexes with K_DR channels. As K_DR channels are known play an important role in the control of resistance arterial diameter, and diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are associated with abnormal cellular kinase activity, Rosalyn's work is aimed at better understanding the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease. Rosalyn's doctoral research is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.