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Joshua Muia, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry, works in a laboratory at the OSU Center for Health Sciences in the School of Biomedical Sciences.

Faculty Spotlight: Joshua Muia, Ph.D.

Monday, April 18, 2022

Media Contact: Sara Plummer | Communications Coordinator | 918-581-1282 | sara.plummer@okstate.edu

Spotlighting Joshua Muia, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biochemistry in the OSU-CHS School of Biomedical Sciences.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Kenya. About 17 years ago I came to the United States to pursue a doctoral program at Western Michigan University and had planned to return immediately on completion. However, that never happened because my spouse was in the middle of her doctoral program at the same university at the time I completed my program. I then moved to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to pursue postdoctoral training.

How did you find yourself at OSU-CHS?

In 2018, my spouse, Dr. Jacinta Mutambuki — the Edward E. Bartlett Professor of Pedagogy in Chemistry and now an assistant professor of chemistry, interviewed for her faculty position at OSU in Stillwater. With a young family — an 8-week-old son and a 3-year-old daughter at the time — I would commute to Stillwater from St. Louis every two weeks for two years. In early 2020, I received an offer for a faculty position from an East Coast university, and Jacinta and I decided to relocate. However, the OSU College of Arts and Sciences countered the offer and worked with OSU Center for Health Sciences’ Biomedical Sciences program to place me at the Tulsa campus. I was thrilled to join OSU-CHS because I knew it would provide an excellent climate and support for my research needs and career development and be reunited with my family.     

What do you teach?

I am a biochemist by training, so I mostly teach biochemistry, but I am also interested in teaching other courses in biomedical sciences. 

What do you research?

My research is focused on two enzymes in the ADAMTS (A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease with ThromboSpondin motifs) family — ADAMTS13 and ADAMTS7. The ADAMTS13 enzyme works to regulate how blood cells called platelets attach to blood vessels and control blood clotting. It’s a delicate balance between bleeding and clotting. We need clotting to stop a bleed, but we don’t want to form blood clots. Either through genetic mutations or autoimmune response, a person’s plasma ADAMTS13 can become dysfunctional and can cause serious health issues including the rare blood disease thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, or TTP, where blood clots form in small arteries in the body. About two-thirds of people diagnosed with TTP are women and it can be associated with pregnancy. Diagnosing TTP routinely involves testing for ADAMTS13 activity levels in plasma. I’ve already developed an ADAMTS13 test, or assay, that is compatible with not just human plasma, but plasma from any species. The test has performed very well in a clinical trial and we will be seeking FDA approval for diagnostic applications.

Besides assays, my laboratory is investigating how ADAMTS13 and related enzymes are regulated. For example, right now, there are no known natural inhibitors of the ADAMTS13 enzyme, which can be exploited as therapies for bleeding disorders caused by too much ADAMTS13 activity. One way to approach this challenge is to characterize similarities and differences between humans and other species’ ADAMTS13 proteins. By looking at other species we see the differences and we can understand how the enzyme is regulated and if there are targets for the enzyme inhibitors. The other ADAMTS enzyme we are working on, ADAMTS7, is a lesser-researched enzyme in that family. There seems to be a strong link between ADAMTS7 and coronary artery disease, or CAD, the most common type of heart disease. However, this enzyme is still a puzzle box because not much is known about its substrates and how it functions. I think there is still a lot to learn and discover about the ADAMTS7 enzyme. 

How did you get interested in science and research?

I became fascinated by science and things around me at a very young age and I enjoyed reading scientific books. I remember coming across a copy of Guinness World Records, which I kept under my pillow. Throughout my schooling, I was passionate about science and inventing new things using local materials. For instance, I made prototypes for wind power and a telephone from carbon rods. I admired scientists, such as Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei and my dream was that one day, I would also make impactful scientific contributions.

Were you encouraged to pursue science?

I was an excellent and ambitious student and always looking for challenging problems to solve. My family knew science was a natural fit for me. They knew I would succeed and therefore, supported me in every step. I also received overwhelming encouragement and support from my teachers, professors, friends and relatives.

Why is diversity, both racial and cultural, important to medicine, research and science?

As a scientist, I have come to appreciate what everyone can bring to the table. To this end, my success can be attributed to numerous mentors from diverse backgrounds. If I had only relied on people who looked like me, I would have missed many opportunities. In return, I have enriched those with whom we have worked together; hence, there are mutual benefits in working with individuals who do not look like you. To combat scientific and health challenges, we need to involve people from diverse backgrounds because the scientific breakthroughs tend to come from outliers — individuals who diverge from what is normal. The other aspect is training a diverse workforce that can drive and advance the economy locally, nationally and internationally. There is overwhelming evidence that medical students from rural localities and minority ethnic groups tend to go back and serve people within their local communities where they were born or raised thereby decreasing health disparities. Additionally, science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) professionals from marginalized groups, women, and minority ethnic groups serve as role models to students and therefore can motivate them to persist and pursue careers in sciences. Clinical trials demand the inclusion of minority participants, but it is equally important to involve people from these groups to recruit effectively. 

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