About Us

The Membrane Protein Disease Research Group (MPDRG) within the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry of the University of Alberta was formed in 2001 when the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Molecular Biology of Membrane Proteins Research Group (established in 1991) merged with the Faculty’s Membrane Transport Research Group (established in 1992).

There are fourteen faculty members in the Group (Drs. Todd Alexander, Joseph Casey, Xing-Zhen Chen, Emmanuelle Cordat, Larry Fliegel, Harley Kurata, Joanne Lemieux, Elaine Leslie, Marek Michalak, Michael Overduin, Thomas Simmen, Nicolas Touret, Justin di Trani and Howard Young) with appointments in the Departments of Biochemistry, Pediatrics, Oncology, Physiology, Cell Biology, and Pharmacology at the University of Alberta.

The role of our Group is to investigate membrane transporters of different molecules and ions, protein targeting and translocation across biological membrane, protein folding, and the role of membrane-associated proteins in control of cell growth and cellular communication.

The Group has developed a strong trainee program in the area of structure and function of membrane proteins.