Researcher Spotlight: Maria Sanita
Second year PhD student and research assistant Maria Sanita originally joined the Franklin supporting the team as a research assistant. However, two years ago she transitioned into a dual role in Michael Grange’s team at the Franklin working towards a DPhil in Clinical Medicine awarded by the University of Oxford.
“So initially I started as a research assistant, and after my first year of being a research assistant. I then went on to apply for a DPhil here in my same group that I was doing my research in, and it’s been lovely to transition into the role of a PhD student in that same group, whilst also carrying out my role as a research assistant. I think the support that I got made everything smoother.
A PhD was always something that I wanted to do. It became about going from learning about the science that I was interested in, to wanting to become more of an expert in my field of interest and start to answer those questions myself. For my PhD project, I’m trying to look at the structure of a protein receptor implicated in Alzheimer’s disease and find out more about its interactions, particularly in the dimer form, that can ultimately lead to advanced Alzheimer’s disease.
Each day ranges quite a bit, but a typical day, for example, can go from processing tissue for my role as a research assistant to then culturing my cells later on in the morning, whilst also making up media and culturing cells for somebody else’s project in my team. Then I could be freezing my samples for sample preparation in the afternoon, whilst also simultaneously helping someone else in the room freeze theirs. So a big range of things depending on what the day requires.
Knowing that I’m contributing to science that’s going to be out there and accessible to other scientists and that can ultimately come together to have a larger impact worldwide, is the most rewarding part of what I am doing. Aside from my own PhD project, it is also rewarding to know that as a research assistant, I’m providing support to my team and making things a bit smoother for everyone else.”
About Maria
Maria has a background in biochemistry, studying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis during a professional training year. This work encouraged her to continue in the field of neuroscience. Maria joined the Franklin as a research assistant working with Dr Michael Grange in 2023, after a year she applied for a DPhil to continue her studies in neuroscience. Maria’s PhD project aims to investigate the structure, organisation and interactions of sortilin-related receptor 1 (SORL1, one of the top 4 Alzheimer’s disease-causative genes when mutated). Maria is specifically looking at the protein dimers of this gene in live cellular environments using cryo-electron microscopy.
“During my studies, I was always most interested in neuroscience, and then, having gone on to do a placement year, I found a real passion for it. Understanding the line between detrimental and protective states of cells and proteins, was the question that grew my passion for neuroscience. When I saw the opportunity to work in a lab that was investigating the structural neuroscience and looking into cells to find out more about them, I thought that that really aligned with what I wanted to do.”
