Paula Coelho Coutinho

I am a PhD student at the Sanford-Burnham Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, La Jolla, CA, mentored by Dr. Pier Lorenzo Puri. My research interest focuses on the understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of muscular dystrophies, with a special emphasis on the mechanism that controls regeneration of dystrophic muscles at different stages of disease progression. My PhD studies focus on the control of the composition and activity of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex in satellite cells and fibro-adipogenic progenitors, in response to signals released from the regenerative environment of normal or dystrophic muscles. As SWI/SNF complex regulates gene expression by modifying chromatin structure, these studies are finalized by elucidating the molecular mechanism by which environmental cues are converted into chromatin modifications that allow the expression of genes to support either compensatory regeneration or maladaptive responses, such as fibrosis or fatty deposition, in dystrophic muscles. This research is shaping my scientific profile toward an expert in the study of the molecular and epigenetic dynamics that regulate lineage commitment in cell types that participate in regeneration and contribute to the progression of neuromuscular disease.

I am a PhD student at the Sanford-Burnham Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, La Jolla, CA, mentored by Dr. Pier Lorenzo Puri. My research interest focuses on the understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of muscular dystrophies, with a special emphasis on the mechanism that controls regeneration of dystrophic muscles at different stages of disease progression. My PhD studies focus on the control of the composition and activity of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex in satellite cells and fibro-adipogenic progenitors, in response to signals released from the regenerative environment of normal or dystrophic muscles. As SWI/SNF complex regulates gene expression by modifying chromatin structure, these studies are finalized by elucidating the molecular mechanism by which environmental cues are converted into chromatin modifications that allow the expression of genes to support either compensatory regeneration or maladaptive responses, such as fibrosis or fatty deposition, in dystrophic muscles. This research is shaping my scientific profile toward an expert in the study of the molecular and epigenetic dynamics that regulate lineage commitment in cell types that participate in regeneration and contribute to the progression of neuromuscular disease.Aluna de doutorado em Ciencias Biológicas no instituto Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, EUA desde 2011. Sob orientação do Dr. Lorenzo Puri. Tenho como principal interesse cientifico entender a patogenese molecular de distrofias musculares, com ênfase no mecanismo que controla regeneração de músculos distroficos em diferentes estágios da progressão da doença.