Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Maulik Patel lab

I study mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). My project focuses on competition between the wild type and mutant mtDNA within the same organism. Specifically, I am interested why some mtDNA mutations consistently outcompete the wild type. It is intriguing how a mutation, which reduces mitochondrial fitness, can bypass mitochondrial quality control and outnumber wild type mtDNA.