Mimi Aziz is a fifth-year graduate student doing research in a genetics lab. Originally from northwest Chicago, she chose to come to the University of Utah because of the incredible genetics department. Her current research involves using fruit flies to understand rare diseases and find treatment options.
Flies share 75% of the same disease-causing genes as humans. This makes them great for studying rare diseases, because it is more likely than not that the disease can be modeled in the flies.
Aziz’s work utilizes drug repurposing to treat rare diseases in flies. Drug repurposing is the process of using drugs that have already been approved by the FDA or EMA for a different use than originally intended. One of the many benefits of drug repurposing is that FDA-approved drugs have documented molecular targets. This means that when a drug is found to produce a desired effect, Aziz can then study the pathway that was manipulated to achieve it.
She is specifically studying a rare neurodevelopmental disorder called PIGA-CDG (Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation). Her research allows her to work within a community of families, clinicians, and other researchers dedicated to understanding and finding solutions for rare diseases. She said that one of the most amazing parts of her work is getting to have this connection that many areas of research don’t get, and to witness the impacts of her work.
Aziz performed a drug repurposing screen on a model of PIGA-CDG and has identified some promising therapeutic targets. She is currently preparing a manuscript describing these findings.
She said that this is the best lab possible for her, as it allows her to pursue her passion of studying rare disease genetics.
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