Assistant Professor

Research

I’m interested in the areas where genetics, cell and molecular biology, and neuroscience meet. I have several projects in the lab, two of which use Drosophila melanogaster to better understand metabolism and neurobiology. Current projects I have going are:

1. Identifying novel transcripts of PSEN1 and PSEN2 in Alzheimer disease: PSEN1 and PSEN2 are genes implicated in Alzheimer disease. We characterize the circular RNAs produced by these genes in human brain tissue to identify transcripts associated with disease.

2. 
   Investigating metabolic disruption in Alzheimer and Parkinson disease: Mitochondrial dysfunction is increasingly implicated in neurological diseases like Parkinson and Alzheimer. We run metabolic profiles on Drosophila models of these diseases to identify molecular pathways and genetic interactors in these diseases.
3. Investigating genetic interactors in acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiencies: These deficiencies are metabolic diseases that include neurological symptomatology. Though considered rare, together as a group they constitute a main cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). We use CRISPR/Cas9 to make Drosophila models of these diseases, assess their effects on the molecular and behavioral level, and analyze their metabolic profiles.
   
   Key Publications
   
   Course, MM, Sulovari, A, Gudsnuk, K, Eichler, EE, Valdmanis, PN. (2021) Characterizing nucleotide variation and expansion dynamics in human-specific variable number tandem repeats. Genome Res. 31, 1313-1324 https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.275560.121 (Links to an external site.)
   
   Course, MM, Gudsnuk, K, Smukowski, SN, Winston, K, Desai, N, Ross, JP, Sulovari, A, Bourassa, CV, Spiegelman, D, Couthouis, J, Yu, C-E, Tsuang, DW, Jayadev, S, Kay, MA, Gitler, AD, Dupre, N, Eichler, EE, Dion PA, Rouleau, GA, Valdmanis, PN. (2020). Evolution of a human-specific tandem repeat associated with ALS. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 107, 1-16.
   
   Course, MM, Scott, AI, Schoor, C, Hsieh, C-H, Papakyrikos, AM, Winter, D, Cowan, TM, Wang, X. (2018). Phosphorylation of MCAD Selectively Rescues PINK1 Deficiencies in Behavior and Metabolism. Mol. Biol. Cell. 29, 1219-1227.
   
   Classes Taught

MB131 - Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology
MB201 - Laboratory in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics
MB301 - Special Topics in Molecular Biology: Molecular Neurobiology
MB350 - Special Topics in Laboratory Research in Molecular Biology: Biochemical Genetics
MB399 - Mentored Research in Molecular Biology