I pioneered, with Yoshio Maruyama, patch clamp single channel and whole-cell current recordings in epithelial cells. We discovered hormone-evoked, messenger-mediated ion channel activation (Maruyama & Petersen Nature 1982a,b), voltage-activation of epithelial ion channels (Maruyama et al Nature 1983a,b) and integrated these data into the first model of how ion channels control exocrine fluid secretion (Petersen & Maruyama Nature 1984 [ISI [WoS] Citation Classic]; Petersen J Physiol 1992). I discovered sub-cellular Ca²⁺ spiking in epithelial cells (Wakui et al Nature 1989, Cell 1990; Thorn et al Cell 1993), messenger-mediated Ca²⁺ release from the nuclear envelope (Gerasimenko et al Cell 1995) as well as the secretory granules (Gerasimenko et al Cell 1996) and intracellular Ca²⁺ tunnels (Mogami et al Cell1997). Together with Oleg and Julia Gerasimenko, we demonstrated the crucial role of Ca²⁺ release channels and store-operated Ca²⁺ entry in Acute Pancreatitis (Raraty et al PNAS 2000; Gerasimenko et al PNAS 2009; 2011), provided proof-of-principle for Ca²⁺ release-activated Ca²⁺ (CRAC) channel blockade as a treatment of severe Acute Pancreatitis (Gerasimenko et al PNAS 2013; J Physiol 2014) and discovered a critical role for pancreatic stellate cells in this disease (Ferdek et al J Physiol 2016; Gryshchenko et al J Physiol 2016,2018).

We continue our work to define the precise intra- and inter-cellular mechanisms driving the important human disease Acute Pancreatitis and to identify the optimal pharmacological intervention points that could prevent and/or cure this disease.

In addition to my primary research work, I am also heavily involved in the European Union’s Scientific Advice Mechanism. As Vice-President of Academia Europaea, I am a member of the Board of SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies), a Horizon 2020 funded (Euro 6 million) project. The purpose is to provide and publish Evidence Review Reports to inform and underpin the Scientific Opinions of the European Commission’s High Level Group of Science Advisors in response to questions from the Commissioners. Academia Europaea is one of the 5 European networks comprising SAPEA and the work of Academia Europaea in this respect is largely conducted by Cardiff University’s Academia Europaea Knowledge Hub. I am the Director of the Knowledge Hub (located in the Hadyn Ellis Building), which currently employs 3 full time staff funded partly by the European Commission and partly by Cardiff University. In 2017 the Cardiff Hub co-ordinated and led the work on the very first SAPEA Evidence Review Report on ‘Food from the Oceans’ which was formally presented to the Commission and published at the end of 2017.

Affiliated staff

• Dr Pawel Ferdek
• Dr Oleksiy Gryschenko
• Dr Monika Jakubowska
• Dr Tetyana Tsugorka

Postgraduate research students

• Mr Richard Charlesworth
• Dr Shuang Peng
• Miss Eloise Stapleton