Megan Cooper

I am interested in studying rare and undiagnosed neurological diseases. My primary focus is studying the roles that phosphate metabolism plays in neuronal health. Inositol pyrophosphates (PP-IPs) are high-energy signaling molecules, which serve important roles in many biological processes such as energy metabolism and exocytosis in neurons. In mammals, the inositol hexakisphosphate kinase family (IP6Ks) consists of IP6K1-3 and generates PP-IPs from inositol phosphates (IPs), using ATP as phosphate group donors. Though phosphate metabolism and PP-IP synthesis are poorly understood in Drosophila, this model provides many advantages for studying the functions of these high-energy signaling molecules and their contributions to neurological diseases