The goal of my research is to understand molecular and cellular mechanisms of brain function, and utilize this knowledge to improve human life. I have been enthusiastic about science and biology since I was an undergraduate student, and received extensive training in molecular and cellular biology of membrane receptors from my doctoral training at Vanderbilt University. My thesis studies focused on exploring how GABAA receptor ?2 subunit mutations affect GABAA receptor biogenesis and to understand their association with epilepsy. I have used heterologous systems and transgenic mouse models to characterize the function of three GABRG2 gene mutations, and demonstrated a potential novel strategy of using aminoglycosides to treat Dravet syndrome induced by nonsense GABRG2 mutation. The goal of my postdoctoral research is to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which the memory associated protein Kibra regulates AMPA receptor trafficking, and determine how KIBRA polymorphisms are associated with altered learning and memory.