Internationally, only a handful of scientists focus on the emerging field of computational biology, which uses computers to analyze and simulate the complex structures and processes found in living systems.

One expert is Wolfgang F. Nonner, M.D., a Miller School professor of physiology and biophysics. Nonner and his team of interdisciplinary colleagues recently unveiled an innovative computer model that provides valuable insights into how calcium is transferred throughout the body.

Nonner's work, which has been published in The Journal of General Physiology, May 2009, specifically focuses on the mechanisms that make it possible for calcium ions to pass across an exterior cell membrane through a protein known as an L-type calcium channel. "Modeling in biology is a well-established way to predict key atomic interactions among molecules within a complex system," Nonner says.

"We apply engineering to biological ion channels to determine what subset of physical interactions helps the channels achieve crucial biological functions," Nonner adds. "We're doing this to understand how a particular molecular function arises from a particular structure, and our modeling could have implications for heart tissue, as well as other cell types."

Nonner's work was lauded by Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D. "The modeling provided by Wolfgang and his group is novel and provocative, and provides a new understanding of how calcium moves from one biological compartment to another," Goldschmidt says. "This development is a formidable contribution to our scientific knowledge of these processes."

Nonner's far-flung team has approximately 20 members whose disciplinary focuses include chemistry, physics and computational electronics. Miller School scientists, as well as researchers from Brigham Young University and institutions abroad, are working with Nonner.

"Even though this appears to be a completely esoteric pursuit, there is a compelling, practical reason for this work," Nonner says. "I belong to a group of scientists and engineers who are creating the technology to build molecular machines. Constructing such machines tells us how well we have understood the physics of biological function, and opens a path for biomedical applications."

The research Nonner and his team are producing is of interest to the fields of nanotechnology, molecular modeling and computational biomodeling, which is concerned with building computational models of biological systems.