External Website:
https://www.unmc.edu/biochemistry/faculty/sorgen.html

Research Interests:  Cells next to each other in a tissue form strong intercellular connections.  One form of these connections is gap junctions, which form pores that can allow the passage of small molecules from one cell to its neighbor.  We are studying one of the molecules that are important for the formation of gap junctions, the connexins.  Our goal is to understand the molecular structure of the connexins and how they regulate gap junction formation and intercellular communication.

A $17.2 million National Institutes of Health grant supports the Institutional Development Award Program (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program in Nebraska. The program, which is funded through INBRE is aimed at creating a biomedical research infrastructure that provides research opportunities for undergraduate students and serves as a pipeline for those students to continue into graduate research.  

This is accomplished by developing the research infrastructure and providing research opportunities for students and faculty at Nebraska's institutions of higher education.The scientific themes of the NE-INBRE program that bring the network together are cell signaling, infectious disease and scancer biology.  Collaborative arrangements between undergraduate faculty and research mentors are integral to the development of these focus areas and increase the research base and capacity for Nebraska.  With respect to the emerging biotechnology industry in the state, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development works closely with the INBRE program through participation in summer workshops.