Megan MitzelfeltDr. Megan Mitzelfelt has primary research interests in sex hormone regulation of epithelial transport and its role in the sex differences observed in normal physiology and disease. Most currently her research involves understanding the regulation of lveolar epithelial sodium channels by estradiol. Using cell-attached patch clamp and biochemistry, she is investigating the mechanism of estradiol's activation of the epithelial sodium channel in a rat alveolar cell line. In future studies, she will examine how female sex hormones affect alveolar sodium channel activity in vivo using patch clamp analysis of alveolar cells from lung slices and through determination of alveolar fluid clearance in male, female, and ovariectomized rats. Finally, she will examine how estradiol's regulation of these sodium channels contributes to the sex differences observed in cystic fibrosis and influenza through the use of mouse models of these diseases. Read More Read Less