Scholars@Duke
Geoffrey Stuart Pitt

Geoffrey Stuart Pitt

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine
Medicine, Cardiology
geoffrey.pitt@duke.edu
Duke Box 103030, Durham, NC 27710
515 E. 79th Street, Pha, New York, NY 10075

Overview

Our research focuses on how intracellular Ca2+, the ultimate signal of membrane excitability, regulates membrane excitability and the consequent function of excitable cells. We have discovered and described multiple mechanisms that control Ca2+ influx through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels and feedback mechanisms by which internal calcium regulates other channels that influence Ca2+ channel function. The work has entailed structure-function analyses of ion channels and their regulatory subunits and studies of mutations that lead to inherited channelopathies such as cardiac arrhythmias and epilepsy.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine · 2016 - Present Medicine, Cardiology, Medicine
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences · 2011 - Present Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, University Institutes and Centers

Recent Publications

Interneuron FGF13 regulates seizure susceptibility via a sodium channel-independent mechanism.

Journal Article Elife · January 8, 2025 Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), a class of devastating neurological disorders characterized by recurrent seizures and exacerbated by disruptions to excitatory/inhibitory balance in the brain, are commonly caused by mutations in ion cha ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Natural History Study of Timothy Syndrome.

Journal Article Orphanet J Rare Dis · November 23, 2024 BACKGROUND: Timothy syndrome (OMIM #601005) is a rare disease caused by variants in the gene CACNA1C. Initially, Timothy syndrome was characterized by a cardiac presentation of long QT syndrome and syndactyly of the fingers and/or toes, all associated with ... Full text Link to item Cite

Multiple beta cell-independent mechanisms drive hypoglycemia in Timothy syndrome.

Journal Article Nat Commun · October 17, 2024 The canonical G406R mutation that increases Ca2+ influx through the CACNA1C-encoded CaV1.2 Ca2+ channel underlies the multisystem disorder Timothy syndrome (TS), characterized by life-threatening arrhythmias. Severe episodic hypoglycemia is among the poorl ... Full text Link to item Cite
View All Publications

Recent Grants

Basic predoctoral training in neuroscience

Inst. Training Prgm or CMETraining Faculty · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1992 - 2018

Fibroblast Growth Factor Homologous Factor Modulation and Effect on Cardiac Ion Channel Trafficking

FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2016 - 2018

Identifying the mechanosensitive domains of the Piezo1 ion channel by application of localized force

FellowshipCo-Sponsor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2015 - 2017

View All Grants

Education, Training & Certifications

Johns Hopkins University · 1993 M.D.

External Links

Pitt lab website