Monica Soto-Velasquez is the Molecular Pharmacology Highlighted Trainee Author for the September 2018 issue. Dr. Soto-Velasquez is with Purdue University. The Molecular Pharmacology article that earned her selection as a Highlighted Trainee Author is titled “A Novel CRISPR/Cas9-Based Cellular Model to Explore Adenylyl Cyclase and cAMP Signaling” and is available on the Molecular Pharmacology site.
Dr. Soto-Velasquez’s area of research is cellular signaling. She is currently working on the development of novel tools to study modulation of adenylyl cyclase isoforms. Her particular interest is the identification of novel inhibitors of the calcium/calmodulin-stimulated adenylyl cyclases, AC1 and AC8.
The genetically modified HEK293 cell line, which is deficient of endogenous AC3 and AC6, could have a significant impact on the study of adenylyl cyclases and cAMP signaling. This HEK293 knockout cell line provides a cellular model with a human genetic background that allows for intact cell characterization of adenylyl cyclase isoform activities in an unbiased and less complex system. The knockout cell line can be easily adapted for high throughput screening of adenylyl cyclase modulators or to functionally characterize mutant adenylyl cyclase isoforms.
When not in the lab, Monica enjoys running with her dog. She practices yoga and plays intramural soccer.