News

March 26, 2025

Graduate student Nathaniel Elia and colleagues in the Cannon Lab discovered that either low- potassium or high-potassium Andersen Tawil Syndrome may trigger a loss of force in muscle with a compromised inward-rectifying potassium channel, as occurs in Andersen Tawil Syndrome.

Gourav Saha, a graduate student in the Cannon Lab and collaborators at UC Irvine (Doug Tobias, Francesco Tombola) were Awarded for Anton 3 allocated supercomputer time (Anton 3, Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center) to perform molecular dynamicm simulations in their study of leaky mutant sodium channels in periodic paralysis.

Dr. Cannon was supported by the Japan Society for Promotion of Science in a Research Fellowship at Osaka University hosted by Prof. Masanori Takahashi.
During his Research Fellowship in Japan, Dr. Cannon presented lectures on periodic paralysis at Osaka University, the National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), and Juntendo University.

Dr. Cannon received the 2022 Biophysics of Health & Disease Award from the Biophysical Society.
The Society’s Awards Committee selected Dr. Cannon as the recipient of the 2022 BPS Award in the Biophysics of Health and Disease for his groundbreaking discoveries in the biophysical elucidation of channelopathies of sodium and calcium channels, including hyperkalemic and hypokalemic periodic paralysis, and in using this understanding to design clinical trials to treat these disorders.

His topics included:

The 2020 Annual Conference of the Periodic Paralysis Associate was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Cannon provided an update on Research Advances in Periodic Paralysis.

This is an endowed lectureship, which is presented by a distinguished scientist once every few years in honor of the prior Chair of the Department of Physiology. Past Horowitz lecturers include Clay Armstrong, Martin Schneider, Kurt Beam, and Jon Lederer.

Dr. Cannon discusses primary periodic paralysis on the cable talk show, "The Balancing Act"

Periodic Paralysis Association Meeting took place on August 17-19, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland.
Patients, families, clinicians, and researchers gathered in Dublin, Ireland for the annual meeting of the Periodic Paralysis Association. Dr. Cannon delivered an update for laypersons (non-scientists) on research advances in periodic paralysis.

A study published in The Lancet reported that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) may be caused by, in some cases, a sodium channel mutation affecting skeletal muscle.
CNN, CBS News, The Guardian and the Press Association featured Dr. Stephen Cannon's research, describing how rare mutations associated with impairment of the breathing muscles were more common in babies who had died from sudden infant death syndrome than in healthy infants. Cannon, chair of physiology, wrote a Lancet commentary on the findings and was quoted in the articles. The stories were syndicated by more than 270 outlets, including The Independent, Daily Mail and Yahoo! News U.K.

Kv4.2 Autism and Epilepsy Mutation Enhances Inactivation of Closed Channels but Impairs Access to Inactivated State after Opening by Lin, Cannon, and Papazian has been published in PNAS.

The Second International Channelopathy Meeting was held in Chicago June 24-26, 2018.
Dr. Cannon gave the plenary lecture. Watch the Periodic Paralysis of Skeletal Muscle: A Prototypical Ion Channelopathy video.