Rate My Professor Linlin Ma

Dr. Linlin Ma is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Environment and Science at Griffith University, where she has served since July 2019, advancing to Senior Lecturer in 2023. She earned her PhD in Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences from the University of South Australia under the supervision of Prof. Allan Bretag, in collaboration with Assoc. Prof. Grigori Rychkov at the University of Adelaide, supported by an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship from the Department of Education, Science and Training. Prior to this, she obtained her Master of Science in Medical Genetics and Bachelor of Medicine (MD) from Harbin Medical University in China, where her master's research focused on cancer studies and molecular biology techniques. Following her PhD, she conducted postdoctoral research under Prof. Jie Zheng at the University of California, honing her expertise in ion channel biophysics.

As a molecular and cellular biologist and electrophysiologist, Linlin Ma specializes in ion channel research, investigating the gating mechanisms and physiological functions of pore-forming membrane proteins such as sodium, potassium, calcium-activated, store-operated (SOC), and transient receptor potential (TRP) channels in disease contexts, particularly channelopathies. Her current research centers on the role of inwardly rectifying potassium channel Kir4.2 in Parkinson's disease, exploring how mutations like R28C lead to loss of function, astrocyte dysfunction, and neurodegeneration. She is a member of the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery and the Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics. Ma convenes courses in Pharmacology (3008NSC) and Biomolecular Science Laboratory (3002ESC), and teaches in Human Biology (1001NSC) and Biotechniques. Key publications include 'Parkinson's disease-linked Kir4.2 mutation R28C leads to loss of channel function and astrocyte dysfunction' (Journal of Physiology, 2025), 'Advancing Kir4.2 Channel Ligand Identification through Virtual Screening and Automated Patch Clamp' (ACS Chemical Biology, 2024), 'A High-Throughput Screening of a Natural Products Library for Modulators of the Kir4.2 Channel' (2024), 'Venom-derived modulators of epilepsy-related ion channels' (2020), and 'Orai1- and Orai2-, but not Orai3-mediated ICRAC is regulated differently by protein kinase A under physiological and pathophysiological conditions' (2021). She has received funding from the Shake It Up Australia Foundation for characterizing Kir4.2 as a Parkinson's disease target (2022).