Grain Valley Native Presents Research in Jefferson City

4/20/2023

Lindsy Todd from Grain Valley presented research regarding a New Regulator of Ataxin-7 Cleavage in Spinocerabellar ataxia type 7 at the 2023 University of Missouri System annual Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol in Jefferson City, MO. Todd is a junior at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is a disease of the nervous system that impairs the sending and receiving of messages between the brain and muscles. Individuals that inherit it experience the loss of motor function and blindness. Todd used an innovative method that successfully identified a regulator of the pathway causing SCA7. This research not only helps Missourians understand the effects of SCA7 but focuses on protein-protein interactions that contribute to the disease and possibly others. One interaction is with the deubiquitnase module (DUBm) which regulates protein levels in the body.
Her follow-up study tested the Ataxin-7 (ATXN7) pattern in the presence and absence of the regulator previously mentioned to determine its function and therapeutic possibility. Furthering this research could lead to treatments for SCA7.

About Research at UMKC
Through its research activity, UMKC generated $186.3 million in economic impact across Missouri during the 2021 fiscal year. The only public research university in Kansas City, UMKC’s research has earned the university an R2 – Higher Research Activity classification by the Carnegie Classification. To qualify for R2 status, a university must award at least 20 research or scholarship doctoral degrees annually and have at least $5 million in total research expenditures.
This year, 12 UMKC research students gave presentations at the Missouri Capital during the UM System Undergraduate Research Day.

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