Return to Decades of Research.

Andermann's syndrome is a relatively unknown disease that results from a gene mutation critical to our nervous system development. Because this gene helps brain growth and neural communication, children born without it will most likely have difficulties walking, ultimately be confined to a wheel chair, and probably not live beyond 30 years of age.

Now, research scientists are learning more about this disease because of the work of Peter Lauf, M.D., and Norma Adragna-Lauf, Ph.D., of the Wright State University faculty. The couple, who has received more than $2.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, and other agencies, collaborates with Dr. Guy Rouleau's Brain Research Group at the University of Montreal.

"We laid the groundwork in the 1980s with the discovery of a protein in the cell membrane, which was subsequently found by the Canadian group to be abnormal in patients suffering from Andermann's syndrome. This protein, which transports salts such as potassium and chloride, was found in almost all tissues of the body. But it has only recently been cloned due to the advances in molecular research," explained Peter Lauf, a WSU University Professor whose primary research interests encompass cellular physiology and the biophysics of membrane transport.

Lauf was one of the first scientists in the world to identify how this protein operates in red blood cell membranes. His work concentrates on studying the physical properties of biological systems, such as cells and body organs. His focus is on the fundamental transport of salts in and out of individual cells.

"Andermann's is a genetic disease involving the chromosomes of nuclei, which contain an abnormal message for producing the protein in question. Since the protein is ubiquitous, it may also be found in red blood cells that travel through our body. Norma and I study these cells to look for abnormalities in the transport system. It's rewarding to study the biophysical properties of our cells and what upsets them," said Lauf.

Adragna-Lauf's interest in research is an outgrowth of her childhood curiosity to explore science. She met her future husband at Harvard and together they represent more than 80 years of experience in scientific research.

"In addition to Andermann's syndrome, our work has applications to sickle cell anemia, heart disease, hypertension, kidney dysfunction, Alzheimer's disease, and other conditions that relate to the red blood cell transport system," said Adragna-Lauf, whose research expertise encompasses pharmacology and toxicology. "The goal of our research is to apply basic science concepts to solve human disorders and develop treatments and therapies."

The couple brought international recognition to Wright State in 2003 when they hosted an International Symposium on Cell Volume and Signaling. Some 38 worldwide scientists from 13 countries attended that event at the first meeting of the organization in the United States. The presentations centered on cellular membrane transport processes and control mechanisms that are of fundamental importance in physiology and medicine. Findings from the symposium were published in a 450-page-volume, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, that was edited by the Laufs and distributed widely in scientific circles.

Lauf has earned significant international recognition during his 40-year career as a research scientist. He served as a Research Fellow at the prestigious Max Planck Institute in Germany, has held visiting professorships in Germany, Japan, Sweden, and Australia, and lectured internationally at 129 universities. Lauf chaired the WSU Department of Physiology and Biophysics from 1985 to 2003, when he was named University Professor at the Boonshoft School of Medicine and co-director of the Cell Biophysics Group. He has more than 300 publications, book chapters, and abstracts to his credit and served on the faculty at the Duke University Medical Center from 1968 to 1985. He founded the Ohio Physiological Society, which has become a nationwide model for other society chapters. Lauf's honors include an NIH career award in 1971, the Golding Research Professorship at WSU in 1988, and Research Award from the Affiliate Society Council of Engineering in Dayton in 1998.

Adragna-Lauf's career as a university faculty member and research scientist spans more than 40 years with assignments at the National University of Buenos Aires in Argentina and the Harvard and Duke Medical Schools. She joined Wright State as an associate professor in pharmacology and toxicology in 1985 and advanced to professor in 2001. Adragna-Lauf served as president of the Ohio Physiological Society, is a fellow of the Council on High Blood Pressure Research, an editorial board member of the journal Cellular Physiology & Biochemistry, and is co-director of the Cell Biophysics Group. Her credits include more than 350 scientific lectures/presentations/publications.