Mahadevan Lab Research Opportunities

Professor of Pathology
Joint Appointment in Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics
mahadevan@virginia.edu
phone: 434-243-2816
location: MR5 Building, Rm. 3330

Interests:

• Pathogenesis of myotonic muscular dystrophy.
• Skeletal and Cardiac Muscle Biology.
• RNA metabolism.
• Mouse models of human disease.
• RNA toxicity as a new paradigm for disease pathogenesis.

Phenotypic analyses of transgenic mice using EMGs and ECGs.
Expression analyses of candidate genes using various molecular biology techniques.
Construction of expression constructs for analyzing gene function in cells and mice.

These short-term rotation projects will allow exposure to a variety of techniques and questions being posed in the lab. They will hopefully enable the student to generate interesting preliminary data and reagents for a future thesis project.

State of the art techniques in molecular biology such as western blotting, northern blotting, real-time RT-PCR, molecular cloning.
Tissue culture techniques: transfections, gene expression analyses, microscopy, muscle differentiation.
Mouse genetics and phenotypic analyses.
Recent advances in basic and translational research in muscular dystrophy.
Students will have an opportunity to interact with molecular geneticists, neuropathologists, neurologists, and cardiologists.

• Molecular basis for RNA toxicity.
• Pathogenesis of cardiac conduction abnormalities.
• Modeling and studying aspects of muscular dystrophy in animal and cell culture models.
• Understanding muscle degeneration and regeneration.