Isom Lab | The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Welcome to the Isom Lab, established in 1995, in the Department of Pharmacology at Michigan Medicine. Our goal is to make Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) history by studying gene variants linked to developmental and epileptic encephalopathy, especially variants in genes encoding voltage-gated sodium channels. Our work uses human induced pluripotent stem cell neurons and cardiac myocytes as well as transgenic mouse and rabbit models. Our expertise includes electrophysiology, confocal imaging, genetics, and molecular and cellular biology techniques.

Congratulations to Dr. Samantha Thompson on her amazing new paper in Neuron!

April 2, 2026

https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(26)00179-0 …

Cool article about Isom Lab alumna, Larissa Robinson-Cooper

March 17, 2026

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https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/larissa-robinson-c…

Dr. Roberto Ramos-Mondragon becomes a US citizen!

April 22, 2025

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Congratulations, Roberto!

Read all Isom Lab news…

Research

Variants in ion channel genes can lead to neurological or cardiovascular diseases called channelopathies. Our work focuses on human variants in genes encoding voltage-gated sodium channel α and β subunits that lead to a devastating pediatric epileptic encephalopathy called Dravet syndrome, a disease with a high risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). We have proposed that SUDEP arises from simultaneous arrhythmias of brain and heart due to the expression of mutant sodium channel genes in both organs. Our ultimate goals are to discover novel targets for epilepsy therapeutics and to identify biomarkers for SUDEP risk.

Isom Lab Members

Relentless in the pursuit of new cures

Lori L. Isom, PhD

Chair, Department of Pharmacology, Maurice H. Seevers Collegiate Professor of Pharmacology, Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Professor of Neurology

lisom@umich.edu

Jana Alkadri

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Vikram Bagchi

Medical Scientists Training Program/Department of Pharmacology MD/PhD student

vabagchi@med.umich.edu

Shreeya Bakshi, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pharmacology

sbakshi@umich.edu

Sebastian Casillas-Lopez

UROP Student

sebascl@umich.edu

Amanda Catalfio, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow, Pharmacology

acatalf@umich.edu

Stephanie Chan

Undergraduate Research Assistant

stchan@umich.edu

Chunling Chen, MD

Assistant Research Scientist, Department of Pharmacology

chunling@umich.edu

Yan Chen

Research Lab Specialist Senior, Department of Pharmacology

chenyan@umich.edu

Krystal Santiago Colon

Graduate student, Department of Pharmacology

ksantia@umich.edu

Shailesh Gullipalli

Undergraduate Research Assistant

shailesg@umich.edu

Molly Hoey

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Aazif Hussain

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Luis Lopez-Santiago, PhD

Associate Research Scientist, Department of Pharmacology

lopezslf@umich.edu

Katelynn Luton

Undergraduate Research Assistant

kluton@umich.edu

Sahana Macedo

Undergraduate Research Assistant

Dyke P. McEwen, PhD

Research Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology

dmcewen@umich.edu

Daeun Nam

Pharmacology Masters Student

namdaeun@umich.edu

Sarah Nelson

Undergraduate Research Assistant

sarahnel@umich.edu

Samantha Thompson, PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pharmacology

thompsam@umich.edu

Shuyun Wang, MD, PhD

Research Lab Specialist Senior, Department of Pharmacology

wangshuy@umich.edu

Yukun Yuan, MD, PhD

Associate Research Scientist, Department of Pharmacology

yukuny@umich.edu

Publications

Click here to view Lori Isom’s publications on PubMed.

Click here to view Lori Isom’s publications on Google Scholar.

Open Positions

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS

GRADUATE STUDENTS
Dr. Isom belongs to several Michigan Ph.D. training programs, including Pharmacology, Neuroscience, CMB, and Molecular and Integrative Physiology. If interested in a research rotation, please send her an e-mail at lisom@umich.edu.

UNDERGRADUATES
Please send an e-mail with a short note about your interest in our lab, your CV, and a transcript to Dr. Isom at lisom@umich.edu.

STAFF

Photos

Contact

Isom Laboratory
Department of Pharmacology
University of Michigan Medical School

2301E MSRB III (office)
2200 MSRB III (lab)
1150 W. Medical Center Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5632

734-936-3050 (office)
734-936-3043 (lab)

Department of Pharmacology Website: https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/pharmacology

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Funding Partners

Lori L. Isom, PhD

Jana Alkadri

Vikram Bagchi

Shreeya Bakshi, PhD

Sebastian Casillas-Lopez

Amanda Catalfio, PhD

Stephanie Chan

Chunling Chen, MD

Yan Chen

Krystal Santiago Colon

Shailesh Gullipalli

Molly Hoey

Aazif Hussain

Luis Lopez-Santiago, PhD

Katelynn Luton

Sahana Macedo

Dyke P. McEwen, PhD

Daeun Nam

Sarah Nelson

Samantha Thompson, PhD

Shuyun Wang, MD, PhD

Yukun Yuan, MD, PhD

If you’d prefer to contact the Isom Lab via email, please use the contact form below.