The major focus of research in the Robia lab is a class of proteins called transport ATPases. These proteins are enzymes that use the energy of ATP to move small molecules across biological membranes. We are particularly interested in how the SERCA calcium transporter governs the dynamic changes in calcium in the heart to coordinate muscle contraction and relaxation. We use a variety of biochemical and biophysical techniques to study transporter structure-function relationships including fluorescence spectroscopy, chemical crosslinking, and molecular dynamics simulations.