Reno Reporter

Scientists affiliated with the University of Nevada, Reno, are trying to deepen the understanding of neurodegenerative symptoms.

According to a Sept. 7 university news release, the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Aging is backing Maryam Raeeszadeh-Sarmazdeh, an assistant professor of chemical and materials engineering, to study molecules that interact with enzymes and what role they play in conditions like Alzheimer's disease.

“We hope that the engineered enzyme inhibitors based on tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase-3, TIMP 3 that we generate in our lab will be strong candidates for developing protein therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, where specific types of metalloproteinases play a great role,” Sarmazdeh said in the release.

The objective for every scientist in Sarmazdeh’s position is to develop treatments that mitigate symptoms and halt the disease's advancement, according to the release.

“We, as bioengineers, get inspired by nature and think about ways to recruit tools already existing in nature such as proteins, and make them do what they might not be able to do naturally using protein engineering and design techniques,” Sarmazdeh said. “In other words, we use our engineering mindset to engineer biological systems to make useful tools and products that improve human life.”

An NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant has been given to the school’s University’s Center for Integrative Neuroscience, which is working with Sarmazdeh on engineering protein therapeutics.

“I am thankful for the support from the Integrative Neuroscience Center at UNR, and its mentors, including Dr. Michael Webster and Dr. Ruben Dagda, as well as the College of Engineering and my colleagues at the CME department,” Sarmazdeh said.