Researcher Maria L. Spletter, Ph.D.

Dr. Spletter is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological and Biomedical Systems, School of Science and Engineering at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Her group studies the regulation and function of alternative splicing in muscle development, and how disruptions to splicing lead to muscle diseases. She applies modern technologies including RNA-Seq and mass spectrometry, as well as classic genetic analysis, to approach this question.

Biography

Areas of Research

Developmental Genetics, Myogenesis, Transcriptomics, Cytoskeletal Assembly, Drosophila, RNA Regulation, Alternative Splicing

Research

Featured Video

Maria Spletter at TEDxTUM, What fruit flies can teach us about muscle disease

WATCH HERE

"Our results illustrate the power and versatility of Drosophila as a well-conserved genetic model to identify factors with RNA-regulatory functions in muscle and to explore basic, disease relevant mechanisms of RBP function in myogenesis."

Maria L. Spletter, Ph.D.

in Kao et al., Cells, 2021, A Candidate RNAi Screen Reveals Diverse RNA-Binding Protein Phenotypes in Drosophila Flight Muscle. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10102505

 

  • funding scholarship

    SUROP grant award

    Ms. Danei Smith, undergraduate researcher in the Spletter lab, was awarded a SUROP grant for Summer 2023 for her project, "Investigation of Bruno1 isoform-specific localization and function in muscle...

  • Spletter

    Spletter brings expertise in muscle biology

    Maria Spletter, Ph.D. is originally from the Midwest. She was thrilled when her expertise in microscopy, transcriptomics and muscle biology made her an ideal fit with the new School of Science and...