Jose Munoz

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Jose is a second-year Biochemistry major at UCLA and has been working in Dr. Koehler’s lab for the past year. The Kohler lab studies the mechanism of protein import into mitochondria and how defects in mitochondrial protein translocation can lead to disease. Ultimately the lab wants to determine the molecular basis of the Mohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome. As of August 2021, Jose has been working on the project of identifying if DNA samples from zebrafish carry the recessive mitochondrial mutation. Mohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome causes deafness, blindness, and dystonia, which are the result of DDP1, the homolog to Tim8 which is a Mitochondrial import inner membrane translocase subunit. He is currently running Polymerase-Chain Reactions(PCR) to investigate the DNA of the zebrafish. He creates specific master mixes using Taq-polymerase that help in obtaining optimal results in each PCR. He also performs gel electrophoresis in order to identify which specimens have the recessive mutation. His work, under the guidance of Ryan Howe, is then used to further analyze the mutation of the zebrafish in order to determine the molecular basis of the disease. Jose would like to thank the Koehler Lab for providing him with this opportunity, as well as the CARE Fellows for funding his research this academic year.

Jose is a second-year Biochemistry major at UCLA and has been working in Dr. Koehler’s lab for the past year. The Kohler lab studies the mechanism of protein import into mitochondria and how defects in mitochondrial protein translocation can lead to disease. Ultimately the lab wants to determine the molecular basis of the Mohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome.

As of August 2021, Jose has been working on the project of identifying if DNA samples from zebrafish carry the recessive mitochondrial mutation. Mohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome causes deafness, blindness, and dystonia, which are the result of DDP1, the homolog to Tim8 which is a Mitochondrial import inner membrane translocase subunit. He is currently running Polymerase-Chain Reactions(PCR) to investigate the DNA of the zebrafish. He creates specific master mixes using Taq-polymerase that help in obtaining optimal results in each PCR. He also performs gel electrophoresis in order to identify which specimens have the recessive mutation. His work, under the guidance of Ryan Howe, is then used to further analyze the mutation of the zebrafish in order to determine the molecular basis of the disease.

Jose would like to thank the Koehler Lab for providing him with this opportunity, as well as the CARE Fellows for funding his research this academic year.