Maria Spletter, Ph.D. is originally from the Midwest. She was thrilled when her expertise in microscopy, transcriptomics and muscle biology made her an ideal fit with the new School of Science and Engineering.

Spletter’s research focuses on how muscles attain different contractile properties during development. The proteins that build muscles are encoded by genes in our DNA, and one way muscles can fine-tune their function is by producing different versions, or isoforms, of the same gene through alternative splicing.

This process is important, and it is often disrupted in muscle diseases, leading to a loss of muscle function.

“My research interests are focused on understanding the regulation and function of RNA-processing during muscle development,” Spletter says.  “To do this, we employ diverse techniques from developmental genetics and cell biology to transcriptomics, bioinformatics and biochemistry.”

Spletter’s background in Drosophila (fruit fly) genetics will integrate well with the diverse model organisms currently in use at UMKC. In addition, her lab uses Drosophila to study the proteins that regulate alternative splicing and determine which isoforms are expressed in different muscles.

Her team studies the role of the Bruno 1, Rbfox1, Scaf6 and Ime4 proteins in normal muscle development, and also how misregulation of these proteins leads to malfunction and muscle disease.

“Our long-term goal is to build a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory network of RNA-binding proteins that influence cytoskeletal assembly during the formation of skeletal muscular tissue during development, and that ultimately define the contractile properties of different muscle fiber types,” Spletter says. “This work is human disease relevant, as misregulation of RNA processing is observed in muscle disease, and a deeper understanding of RNA-binding protein function may lead to new therapies or drug targets.”

Spletter will begin her work at UMKC Sept. 1.