The ASPIRE Path in Molecular Medicine

I am a neuroscience graduate student in Dr. Eric Delpire’s lab where I study the underlying transporter mechanisms and mutations involved in inherited peripheral neuropathies.  My work focuses on the transporter potassium cation chloride cotransporter 3 (KCC3) and its role in the nervous system and the development of Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum with peripheral neuropathy. My goal is to begin to understand how KCC3 functions in wild type conditions to then begin to determine how and why a disruption of KCC3 contributes to the development of peripheral neuropathy. Moreover, I am using different genetic mouse models to temporally regulate the expression of KCC3 to determine if I can rescue the phenotype induced by a KCC3 mutation.

My clinical mentor is Dr. Amanda Peltier who treats patients that suffer from inherited neuropathies or developed neuropathies. She utilizes a variety of external tests to determine if individuals have peripheral neuropathy which I plan to utilize on my genetic mouse models to make my experiments more relatable a model od disease. I am hoping to combine her clinical expertise to make the experiments I conduct more translatable and facilitate our understanding of how peripheral neuropathy develops.