Bio
Mariah received her B.S. in Biochemistry from Iowa State University in 2012. While at Iowa State, Mariah worked in the laboratory of Dr. Ravindra Singh, which studies the alternative splicing mechanism of the Survival Motor Neuron 2 pre-mRNA and its association with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Mariah completed her Ph.D. at Washington University in Saint Louis, under the direction of Timothy Miller, MD, Ph.D. Mariah’s doctoral work was focused on identifying motor neuron-enriched microRNAs and their relationship to the motor neuron disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Mariah’s doctoral work resulted in the development of a pharmacodynamic biomarker for ALS and other motor neuron diseases, as well as identification of a novel mechanism of microRNA-mediated communication between motor neurons and astrocytes. In June 2018, Mariah began her postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. Debra Silver. The focus of Mariah’s work has been elucidating the role of DDX3X, a new intellectual disability gene, in neural progenitors and neurons during cortical development. Mariah hopes to one day have her own lab studying defects in RNA metabolism in neurological disorders and to develop new therapies for these devastating diseases.