Mariah R. Baker, PhD
- Assistant Professor
Education
- PhD
- Structural and Computational Biology and Molecular Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine
- Post-doctoral Fellow
- National Center for Macromolecular Imaging, Baylor College of Medicine
- Post-Doctoral Fellow
- McGovern Medical School, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Areas of Interest
Research Interests
Ion Channels, Structural studies, Electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM), Atomic modeling from cryo-EM density maps
Research Information
Ca2+ ions exert a profound influence on vital physiological processes. One major player driving the Ca2+ signal is the Ca2+ release channel, inositol trisphosphate receptor (IP3R), present natively in nearly all human cells. IP3Rs act as a signaling hub for multiple inputs to finely tune the Ca2+ signal and its dysregulation deeply impacts health with critical roles in cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. While IP3Rs are highly regulated signal integrators, the molecular mechanism governing their regulation is not well understood. High-resolution structural information is key to understanding IP3R function in Ca2+ signaling and Ca2+ channel diseases. Therefore, we utilize a multidisciplinary approach that includes biochemical and biophysical characterization, single-particle electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM), computational methods, molecular modeling and bioinformatics to define the molecular interactions regulating IP3R function.
Publications
Publication Information
- Fan G*,Baker MR*, Wang Z, Seryshev AB, Ludtke SJ, Baker ML, Serysheva II.Cryo-EM reveals ligand induced allostery underlying InsP3R channel gating. Cell Res. 2018 Dec;28(12):1158-1170.
- Baker MR, Fan G, Serysheva II.Structure of IP3R channel: high-resolution insights from cryo-EM. Curr Opin Struct Biol. 2017 Oct;46:38-47. doi: 10.1016/j.sbi.2017.05.014.
- Fan G, Baker ML, Wang, Z,Baker MR, Sinyagovskiy PA, Chiu W, Ludtke SJ and Serysheva II.Gating Machinery of IP3R Channels Revealed by Electron Cryo-Microscopy. Nature 2015.
- Baker MR, Fan G, Serysheva II.单粒子低温电子显微镜的e ryanodine receptor channel in an aqueous environment. Eur J Transl Myology. 2015;25(1):35-48.
- Popova OB,Baker MR, Tran TP, Le T, Serysheva II.Identification of ATP-Binding Regions in the RyR1 Ca2+Release Channel. PLoS One. 2012 Nov;7(11), PMC3492408.
- Baker MR, Rees I, Ludtke SJ, Chiu W, Baker ML.Constructing and Validating Initial Cα Models from Subnanometer Resolution Density Maps with Pathwalker. Structure. 2012 Mar 7;20(3):450-63, PMC3307788.
- Baker, ML,Baker MR, Hryc C, Ju T, Chiu W. Gorgon andPathwalking: Macromolecular Modeling Tools for Subnanometer Resolution Density Maps. Biopolymers. 2012 Sep;97(9):655-68.
- Baker ML,Baker MR, Cong Y.Computational methods for interpretation of EM maps at subnanometer resolution. 2012 Jan, In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester.
- Baker, ML,Baker, MR, Hryc, CF, and DiMaio, F.Analyses of Subnanometer Resolution Cryo-EM Density Maps. Methods in Enzymology. 2010 May; 483:1-29, PMC3107677.
- Fallon J*,Baker MR*, Xiong L*, Loy RE, Yang G, Dirksen RT, Hamilton SL, Quiocho FA.Crystal structure of dimeric cardiac L-type calcium channel regulatory domains bridged by Ca2+·calmodulins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Mar;106(13):5135–5140, PMC2654391.
- Serysheva II, Ludtke SJ,Baker MR, Chiu W, Hamilton SL.Structure of the voltage-gated L-type Ca2+channel by electron cryomicroscopy. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2002 Aug;99(16):10370-5, PMC124921.