Rían W. Manville
Biography
Rían W. Manville, Ph.D., is an Assistant Project Scientist in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of California, Irvine, where he works in the laboratory of Professor Geoffrey W. Abbott. Manville investigates the molecular mechanisms of human diseases caused by ion channel dysfunction, including epilepsy, ataxia, addiction, and cardiovascular disease. His research also focuses on identifying novel small molecule modulators of voltage-gated potassium channels through the study of medicinal plants and herbs, using techniques including mouse and human genetics, cellular electrophysiology, pharmacology, and all-atom molecular dynamic simulations.
Since beginning his publication record in 2017, Manville has published thirty-seven manuscripts. According to GPS Scholar, he is currently ranked No. 2 in the world for potassium channel research and joint No. 1 for research quality over the most recent five-year period. He is also ranked No. 297 out of 28,685 scholars in the all-time potassium channel research rankings on GPS Scholar. Prior to his current position, Manville served as a Lecturer in Pharmacology and Neuropharmacology at the University of Brighton from 2019 to 2022, where he was a module leader for the second year of the pharmacy degree and supervised undergraduate project students.
Manville received his Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Biophysics from the University of Portsmouth in 2016, where his dissertation focused on the identification and functional characterization of a novel potassium channel from phytopathogenic fungi. He has been invited to present his research at numerous conferences and institutions, including platform presentations at the Biophysical Society annual meetings, the Traditional Medicines Conference in Tokyo, and the Ion Channel Modulation Symposium at Harvard.
Return to topEducation
- Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Biophysics, University of Portsmouth, 2016
- BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, 2009
Areas of Expertise
- Ion Channel Physiology
- Botanical Medicine Pharmacology
- Voltage-Gated Potassium Channels
- Episodic Ataxia Therapeutics
- Conifer Metabolite Modulators
- KCNQ Channel Activation
- Neurotransmitter Direct Activation
Recent Publications
- RW. Manville, L. Foglia, R.F. Yoshimura, D.J. Hogenkamp, A. Nguyen, A. Yu, G.W. Abbott, “A conifer metabolite corrects episodic ataxia type 1 by voltage sensor-mediated ligand activation of Kv1.1” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 122, 2025.
- Manville RW, Sidlow R, Abbott GW, “Conifer metabolite pisiferic acid restores activity in human Kv1.2 potassium channels carrying pathogenic sequence variants” (opens in new tab), iScience, vol. 28, no. 9, pp. 113283, 2025.
- Manville RW, Nguyen HA, Abbott GW, “Comment on "The quercetin metabolite 4-methylcatechol causes vasodilation via voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels" by Patrícia Dias, Rudy Salam, Jana Pourová, Marie Vopršalová, Lukáš Konečný, Eduard Jirkovský, Jurjen Duintjer Tebbens and Přemysl Mladěnka, Food & Function, 2024, 15, 11047” (opens in new tab), Food and Function, vol. 16, no. 7, pp. 2909-2913, 2025.
- Abbott GW, Manville RW, “NaVigating nociceptive neuron signaling pathways to arrive at pain relief” (opens in new tab), Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, vol. 392, no. 2, pp. 100037, 2025.
- Manville RW, Baldwin SN, Schaub OH, Jepps TA, Abbott GW, “Vasorelaxant effects of 3-methoxycatechol are not via direct activation of voltage-gated potassium channels” (opens in new tab), Vascular Pharmacology, vol. 159, pp. 107471, 2025.
- Manville R.W., Abbott G.W., “Protocol to study human Kv1.2 potassium channel pathogenic sequence variants using two-electrode voltage-clamp technique” (opens in new tab), STAR Protocols, vol. 6, 2025.
- Manville RW, Illeck CL, Lewis A, McCrossan ZA, Goldstein SAN, Abbott GW, “The molecular basis of pH sensing by the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans TOK potassium channel” (opens in new tab), iScience, vol. 27, no. 12, pp. 111451, 2024.
- Manville RW, Illeck CL, Santos C, Sidlow R, Abbott GW, “A novel loss-of-function KCNB1 gene variant in a twin with global developmental delay and seizures” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, vol. 18, pp. 1477989, 2024.
- Abbott GW, Manville RW, “Discovery of a potent, Kv7.3-selective potassium channel opener from a Polynesian traditional botanical anticonvulsant” (opens in new tab), Communications Chemistry, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 233, 2024.
- Manville RW, Yoshimura RF, Yeromin AV, Hogenkamp D, van der Horst J, Zavala A, Chinedu S, Arena G, Lasky E, Fisher M, Tracy CR, Othy S, Jepps TA, Cahalan MD, Abbott GW, “Polymodal K+ channel modulation contributes to dual analgesic and anti-inflammatory actions of traditional botanical medicines” (opens in new tab), Communications Biology, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1059, 2024.
- Manville RW, Block SD, Illeck CL, Kottmeier J, Sidlow R, Abbott GW, “A novel autism-associated KCNB1 mutation dramatically slows Kv2.1 potassium channel activation, deactivation and inactivation” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, vol. 18, pp. 1438101, 2024.
- Manville RW, Alfredo Freites J, Sidlow R, Tobias DJ, Abbott GW, “Native American ataxia medicines rescue ataxia-linked mutant potassium channel activity via binding to the voltage sensing domain” (opens in new tab), Nature Communications, vol. 14, 2023.
- Manville RW, Baldwin SN, Eriksen EØ, Jepps TA, Abbott GW, “Medicinal plant rosemary relaxes blood vessels by activating vascular smooth muscle KCNQ channels” (opens in new tab), FASEB Journal, vol. 37, no. 9, pp. e23125, 2023.
- Manville RW, Hogenkamp D, Abbott GW, “Ancient medicinal plant rosemary contains a highly efficacious and isoform-selective KCNQ potassium channel opener” (opens in new tab), Communications Biology, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 644, 2023.
- Hu Z, Li J, Liu Q, Manville RW, Abbott GW, “The plant-derived alkaloid aloperine prevents ischemia/reperfusion injury-induced sudden cardiac death” (opens in new tab), FASEB Journal, vol. 37, no. 7, pp. e22999, 2023.
- Manville RW, Sidlow R, Abbott GW, “Case report: A novel loss-of-function pathogenic variant in the KCNA1 cytoplasmic N-terminus causing carbamazepine-responsive type 1 episodic ataxia” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Neurology, vol. 13, pp. 975849, 2022.
- Manville RW, Redford KE, van der Horst J, Hogenkamp DJ, Jepps TA, Abbott GW, “KCNQ5 activation by tannins mediates vasorelaxant effects of barks used in Native American botanical medicine” (opens in new tab), FASEB Journal, vol. 36, no. 9, pp. e22457, 2022.
- Maandi SC, Maandi MT, Patel A, Manville RW, Mabley JG, “Divergent effects of HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors on pancreatic beta-cell function and survival: Potential role of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction” (opens in new tab), Life Sciences, vol. 294, pp. 120329, 2022.
Most Cited Publications
- Manville RW, Papanikolaou M, Abbott GW, “Direct neurotransmitter activation of voltage-gated potassium channels” (opens in new tab), Nature Communications, vol. 9, 2018.
- Manville RW, Abbott GW, “Gabapentin Is a Potent Activator of KCNQ3 and KCNQ5 Potassium Channels” (opens in new tab), Molecular Pharmacology, vol. 94, no. 4, pp. 1155-1163, 2018.
- Llorente-Esteban A, Manville RW, Reyna-Neyra A, Abbott GW, Amzel LM, Carrasco N, “Allosteric regulation of mammalian Na⁺/I⁻ symporter activity by perchlorate” (opens in new tab), Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, vol. 27, pp. 533-539, 2020.
- Manville RW, van der Horst J, Redford KE, Katz BB, Jepps TA, Abbott GW, “KCNQ5 activation is a unifying molecular mechanism shared by genetically and culturally diverse botanical hypotensive folk medicines” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 116, pp. 21236-21245, 2019.
- Manville RW, Abbott GW, “Ancient and modern anticonvulsants act synergistically in a KCNQ potassium channel binding pocket” (opens in new tab), Nature Communications, vol. 9, 2018.
- van der Horst J, Manville RW, Hayes K, Thomsen MB, Abbott GW, Jepps TA, “Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) Metabolites Induce Vasodilation and Hypotension by Activating Kv7 Potassium Channels Directly and Indirectly” (opens in new tab), Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, vol. 40, no. 5, pp. 1207-1219, 2020.
- Manville RW, Abbott GW, “Cilantro leaf harbors a potent potassium channel-activating anticonvulsant” (opens in new tab), FASEB Journal, vol. 33, no. 10, pp. 11349-11363, 2019.
- De Silva AM, Manville RW, Abbott GW, “Deconstruction of an African folk medicine uncovers a novel molecular strategy for therapeutic potassium channel activation” (opens in new tab), Science Advances, vol. 4, 2018.
- Manville RW, Papanikolaou M, Abbott GW, “M-Channel Activation Contributes to the Anticonvulsant Action of the Ketone Body β-Hydroxybutyrate” (opens in new tab), Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, vol. 372, no. 2, pp. 148-156, 2020.
- Manville RW, Abbott GW, “Isoform-Selective KCNA1 Potassium Channel Openers Built from Glycine” (opens in new tab), Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, vol. 373, no. 3, pp. 391-401, 2020.
Contact Information
Email: rmanvill@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-3127
Address: 288 Irvine Hall
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Last updated on 4/2/2026.