Edward Cooper

Edward Cooper is an Associate Professor at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, affiliated with the Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience, and Molecular & Human Genetics. He investigates voltage-gated ion channels in epilepsy, focusing on KCNQ2/3 and ANK3-related mechanisms, with implications for mood disorders and brain diseases.

• Education: PhD in Cellular & Molecular Physiology, Yale University (1991)
• MD, Yale University (1990)
• Residency in Neurology, University of California, San Francisco (1994)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of California, San Francisco (2002)

Research combines molecular genetics, evolutionary biology, and translational medicine to study ion channel diseases of the axon. His work explores genotype-phenotype correlations in KCNQ2/3 mutations, post-translational modifications of channels, and evolutionary origins of axonal signaling mechanisms.

The Cooper Lab's publications highlight ankylin-G interactions with ion channels, axonal excitability regulation, and developmental neuroscience applications. Key techniques include electrophysiology, protein immunolocalization, and computational modeling.

Funding sources include the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), CURE Epilepsy, and The Epilepsy Foundation. The lab trains students through Baylor's Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Rice University collaborations.

• Current team: Postdoctoral fellows in BCM's Multidisciplinary Training in Brain Disorders Program
• Former students: Dr. Jack Tsao (USUHS), Dr. Ignacio Valencia (Drexel), and others