Alexander G. Obukhov

Alexander G. Obukhov is an American researcher, who specializes in ion channels, molecular physiology, and vascular biology. Since 1986, Obukhov published research articles, with the most notable ones published in academic journals such as Nature, Journal of Biological Chemistry, EMBO Journal, Journal of Cell Biology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, and Neuron. Obukhov's research later evolved to feature multiple fields including neurophysiology, traumatic brain injury, pain, and atherosclerosis.

Education
Obukhov obtained a Degree of Chemist from Samara State University (Samara, USSR) in 1983. He then studied Electrophysiology at the Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology (Kyiv, Ukraine) and earned a Ph.D. Degree in 1988. Obukhov later pursued Fellowships in Electrophysiology and Molecular Biology at Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology and later at Institut für Pharmakologie, Freie Universität Berlin (Berlin, Germany).

Career
Obukhov started his research career in 1983 in the laboratory of Dr. Alexander A. Krayevsky at the Institute of Molecular Biology of Academy of Sciences of Soviet Union (Moscow, USSR) where he was involved in the chemical synthesis of unnatural nucleoside triphosphates. In 1985, he joined the laboratory of Dr. Oleg A. Krishtal at Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology where he learned the advanced electrophysiological patch clamp technique and started investigating the physiological effects of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) analogs synthesized by him on the activity of sensory nodose ganglion (a vagus nerve ganglion) neurons, which express P2X receptor-channels activated by ATP. While working in the Krishtal's laboratory, Obukhov characterized the single-channel properties of an individual neuronal ATP-gated (P2X) receptor channel protein in sensory neurons and determined the pharmacological properties of the neuronal ATP-gated (P2X) receptor channel. After earning his PhD degree in 1988, he continued his work at Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology until 1992. In 1992, he was awarded the Humboldt Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Bonn, Germany) to conduct research at a German University, and this allowed him to join the laboratory of Dr. Günter Schultz at the Institut für Pharmakologie of Freien Universität Berlin (Berlin, Germany) where he studied the biophysical properties of just cloned Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) Channels. In the laboratory of Dr. Schultz, Obukhov continued mastering his skills as an electrophysiologist and also started learning Pharmacology and Molecular Biology. After completing the Humboldt Fellowship at the end of 1994, Obukhov continued his research of TRP channels in the laboratory of Dr. Schultz until 1999. While working in the Schultz laboratory, Obukhov with his colleagues provided first evidence that TRP proteins are ion channels by recording their single-channels activity. During this period, Obukhov published four of his most cited academic publications. In 1999, Dr. Obukhov moved to the USA where he initially worked at New Jersey Medical School of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ (Newark, NJ) as an Instructor and then as a Research Assistant Professor. In 2006, Obukhov moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, USA to work for the Indiana University School of Medicine - Indianapolis as an Assistant Professor and then as an Associate Professor. The laboratory of Dr. Obukhov continues investigating the molecular physiology of TRP channels. Additionally, Dr. Obukhov studies the mechanisms of metabolic syndrome-associated atherosclerosis progression.

Teaching
Obukhov teaches Physiology and Electrophysiology-related topics at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Professional affiliations
Obukhov is a professional member of the American Heart Association.