Maria Khan, a native Phoenician, is a UBRPer in Dr. Carol Gregorio's lab, which focuses on cardiovascular research. Maria is involved in two projects. The first investigates the interaction of nebulin and alpha-actinin, two proteins found in skeletal and heart cells. Nebulin is believed to serve as a ruler to determine actin filament length, while alpha-actinin provides the cross links that hold the Z-disk in sarcomeres together. Maria's project is to determine which parts of the nebulin protein interact with alpha-actinin.

Maria's second project with Dr. Gregorio is to clone the desmin protein. Desmin is another protein found in skeletal and heart cells, which also interacts with nebulin. Even though the exact function of desmin is still unknown, once she clones the protein, Maria will investigate its role in heart disease through introducing various mutations in the protein.

Maria, a molecular and cellular biology major, says her research experience has been very rewarding. The knowledge she has gained through the hands-on lab work as well as the pride she feels in her work's applicability in the science and medical fields allow Maria to harbor a new appreciation for scientific research. Maria presented a poster of her work at the 19th annual UBRP Conference, January 26, 2008: https://ubrp.arizona.edu/conferences/08/abstract.cfm?id=669.

The UBRP part of her support comes from Bio5 and from a grant from the HHMI (52005889).