College of Pharmacy
  1. UH Home
  2. College of Pharmacy
  3. About Us
  4. Directory
  5. PPS Faculty Directory
  6. Christian Egly

About Us

Christian Egly

Assistant Professor
Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Office

University of Houston College of Pharmacy
Health 2, Room 7040
4349 Martin Luther King Boulevard
Houston, TX 77204-5037

Contact

clegly@central.uh.edu

Research

Our laboratory focuses on ion channel function and molecular pharmacology, investigating how drugs, disease-associated mutations, and polygenic risk variants alter channel gating, trafficking, and permeation. We combine patch-clamp electrophysiology, high-throughput drug and genetic screening, affinity purification-mass spectrometry proteomics, and CRISPR gene editing to dissect these mechanisms. A particular strength of the lab is the use of human iPSC-derived models to assess polygenic risk — testing how combinations of common variants collectively shape channel function and disease susceptibility. A central goal of the lab is to translate these mechanistic insights into new therapeutic strategies for ion channel disorders.

  • Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmacology (Ph.D.), Vanderbilt University: Nashville, TN
    Thesis advisor: Bjorn Knollmann, MD, Ph.D., 2022
  • Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Purdue University College of Pharmacy: West Lafayette, IN, 2018
  • Undergraduate (Pre-Pharmacy Requirement) Indiana University Purdue University of Indianapolis, 2014

ORCID Profile

  • Chen X, Egly C, Riley AM, Li W, Tewson P, Hughes TE, Quinn AM, and Obukhov AG. PKC-dependent phosphorylation of the H1 histamine receptor modulates TRPC6 activity. Cells. 2014; 3:247-57. doi:10.3390/cells3020247.
  • Egly C, Kaakeh Y. Student pharmacists’ guide to pharmaceutical Industry. Purdue Journal of ServiceLearning and International Engagement. 5:72-78, 2018.
  • Egly C, Shugg T, Stamatkin CW, Patil AS, Tisdale JE, Overholser BR. Progesterone metabolites alter activation gating of the human Ether-a-go-go-Related Gene (hERG)-related current. Journal of ClinicalPharmacology. 60:648-659, 2020. doi: 10.1002/jcph.1563.
  • Kozek KA, Glazer AM, Ng CA, Blackwell D, Egly CL, Vanags LR, Blair M, Mitchell D, Matreyek KA, Fowler DM, et al. High-throughput discovery of trafficking-deficient variants in the cardiac potassium channel K. Heart Rhythm. 2020; 17(12):2180-2189. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2020.05.041.
  • Kozek K, Wada Y, Sala L, Urbain ID, Egly CL, et al. Estimating the post-test probability of disease for rare genetic variants. Circulation. Genomic and Precision Medicine. 2021; 14(4):e003289. doi: 10.1161/CIRCGEN.120.003289.
  • Kryshal DO, Blackwell DJ, Egly CL, et al. RYR2 channel inhibition is the principal mechanism of flecainide action in CPVT. Circulation Research. 128:321-331, 2021. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.316819.
  • Egly CL, Blackwell DJ, Schmeckpeper J, et al. A high-throughput assay to identify clinically approved drugs that can treat Long QT Syndrome caused by trafficking-deficient KV11.1 (hERG) variants. Molecular Pharmacology. 2022;101:236-245. doi: 10.1124/molpharm.121.000421.
  • Etuglu LA, Pitzer AM, Jamison A, Laffer CL, Elijovich F, Saleem M, Blackwell DJ, Kryshtal DO, Egly CL, et al. Eicosanoid-regulated myeloid ENaC and Isolevuglandin formation in human salt-sensitive hypertension. Hypertension. 2023; 81(3):516-529. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.21285.
  • Egly CL, Do T, McDonald E, Barny L, Plate L, Knollmann B. The proteostasis interactomes of traffickingdeficient Kv11.1 variants associated with Long QT Syndrome and pharmacological chaperone rescue. JBC. 2024; 300(7):107465. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107465.
  • Egly CL, Shen A, Do TQ, Tellet Cabiya C, Ritschel PA, Woo S, Ku M, Delisle BP, Kroncke BM, Knollmann BC. High-throughput screens identify genotype-specific therapeutics for channelopathies. JCI Insight. 2025 Sep 30;10(22):e191697. doi:10.1172/jci.insight.191697. PMID: 41026531; PMCID: PMC12643509.
  • Egly, CL*, Barny, L, Woo, S, Mitchell, D, Ku, M, Knollmann, BC, Plate, L, & Kroncke, B* (2026). Kv11.1 (hERG) protein interaction networks connect endocytic trafficking to polygenic influences on cardiac repolarization. Molecular and Cellular Proteomics (accepted).
  • HRS Young Investigator Award Finalist, Heart Rhythm Society Conference, San Diego, CA, April 2025                        
  • Top 50 Abstract, Association for Clinical and Translational Sciences Conference, Washington, D.C., April 2025
  • Lightning Talks Winner, US Human Proteome Organization (Philadelphia, PA), February 2025            
  • Cardiac Electrophysiology Society: Young Investigator Poster Award Finalist, Heart Rhythm Society Conference, Boston, MA, May 2024
  • Travel Award/Poster Award, AHA Strategically Focused Research Network Meeting, Cleveland, OH, April 2024
  • Young Investigator Award, Pediatric and Adult Congenital Electrophysiology Society (PACES), Boston, MA, 2024
  • Young Investigator Poster Award Finalist, Cardiac Electrophysiology Society, Heart Rhythm Society Conference, San Francisco, CA, May 2022
  • Molecular Pharmacology – Highlighted Trainee, April 2022          
  • Heart Rhythm Society Travel Scholarship, May 2020
  • Research Recognition Award Class of 2018, Purdue College of Pharmacy, April 2018
CV