Dr. Marx received his B.S. in Biology from Union College and M.D. from Albany Medical College as part of a six-year program. Following a one-year postdoctoral fellowship in ion channel research at Johns Hopkins, he completed an internship and residency at the University of Rochester-Strong Memorial Hospital followed by a Cardiology Fellowship and a Clinical Electrophysiology Fellowship at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology. He is also the principal investigator of several NIH R01 grants and a T32 grant. Dr. Marx has served on NIH and AHA peer review committees, is a member of the AHA Founders Affiliate Research Committee, and serves on the New York Academy of Medicine Glorney-Raisbeck Selection Committee.

The Marx laboratory studies the regulation of ion channels by macromolecular complexes. We have demonstrated that specific sequences within the ion channel (leucine zippers) recruit regulatory proteins, which modulate the ion channel function in normal and pathologic conditions. The laboratory is now focused on understanding the molecular components and functional implications of macromolecular complex formation of the large conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (BKCa, maxi-K) and the L-type voltage gated calcium channel. The laboratory utilizes both molecular biologic and electrophysiologic (planar lipid bilayer, patch clamp) techniques to elucidate these fundamental processes and emphasizes the links between these fundamental molecular processes and systems function. To date our work has had significant impact in understanding the triggers of fatal cardiac arrhythmias and mechanical dysfunction in heart failure. Present experiments are very likely to impact our understanding of control of peripheral blood pressure by the sympathetic nervous system.