Dr Ming Lei B.M, M.Med, DPhil

Ming Lei is the head of cardiac ion channel signalling laboratory

Member of The Physiological Society, 1999-now

Member of Biophysical Society, 2000-2005

Cardiac electrical functions are highly regulated on a beat to beat basis by multiple extra- and intra-cellular signalling pathways. Such regulation is mainly through the modulation of the activity of ion channels on cell membrane of heart cells. Our knowledge in understanding these intracellular signalling mechanisms of such regulation is still limited. The overall aim of Ming Lei group on-going research is to determine ion channel signalling and regulatory mechanisms in these cells, specifically, to identify and clarify the specific intracellular signalling pathways that regulate ion channel function in cardiac cells from the normal and malfunction cardiac conduction system. It uses the mouse as a model system with novel conditional, tissue specific knock-out or overexpression genetic manipulation.

The techniques used including electrophysiological techniques (e.g. voltage clamping, action potential clamping, tissue and whole heart preparations electrical recording) and molecular approaches (e.g. microarray, real-time PCR, Western Blot, immunocytochemistry, viral gene transfer, etc.). These are also combined with mathematical modelling for developing biophysically detailed computer models of cardiac cell and tissue

Ming Lei obtained B.Sc and M.Sc in Medicine (1983 and 1990, Tongji Medical University, Wuhan, P. R of China) and a D. Phil in Physiology (1997, University of Oxford). After having spent a 4-year Post-Doctoral research at University of Leeds and the University of Oxford, He won the Wellcome Research Career Development (RCD) Award in 2001. From 2001 to 2005 he had worked at Department of Physiology at the University of Oxford as a Wellcome RCD Fellow and a University Research Lecturer leading a team to study the molecular and electrophysiological aspects of ion channels in the heart, particularly, in heart pacemaker tissues. In 2005, he moved to the University of Manchester as a Senior Lecturer of Cardiac Electrophysiology.

Current members:
Mr. Emmanuel Eroume A Egom (Ph.D student)
Mr. Junhong Gui (Ph.D student)
Miss. Jingjing Wu (Ph.D student)
Miss. Wendy Wang (Ph.D student)
Dr. Vicky Wei Liu (Postdoc Fellow
Dr. Laura Davies (Postdoc Fellow)
Dr. Xiaojin Hao (Postdoc Fellow)

Key collaborators
• Profs. Andrew Grace & Christopher Huang
Cardiovascular Research Group [Depts. of Physiology and Biochemistry],
the University of Cambridge
• Prof. John Solaro and Dr. Ke YB.
Department of physiology and biophysics, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
• Dr. Thomas Zimmer,
Institute of Physiology, Jena, Germany
• Dr. B Gao
Institute of Child Health, University College London.
• Prof. Derek A. Terrar
Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford
• Dr Tao Wang
Academic Unit of Medical Genetics
Centre for Molecular Medicine (CMM)
University of Manchester
• Dr. Henggui Zhang
Biological Physics Group, School of Physics & Astronomy, The University of Manchester