Muhammad Yasir is an MSc student in Biology of Translational Research and Precision Medicine at the University of Verona, Italy. He previously completed his Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology from the University of Central Punjab, Pakistan. His academic and research interests focus on molecular mechanisms of human disease, protein biochemistry, and biophysical characterization of disease-associated protein variants.
During his MSc research, under the supervision of Professor Daniele Dell’Orco and his research team at the University of Verona, he is investigating the biochemical and biophysical properties of the human GCAP1 (GUCA1A) L84F variant associated with cone-rod dystrophy. His project involves recombinant protein expression and purification of human GCAP1 variants, including comparative analysis with the bovine ortholog, to understand the impact of sequence variation on protein structure, stability, and function.
The study involves chromatographic purification approaches and comparative characterization of wild-type and mutant proteins using techniques including size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, fluorescence-based assays, and calcium/magnesium-dependent functional studies. Through this research, he aims to understand how disease-associated mutations influence protein stability, conformational dynamics, and molecular function, contributing to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying inherited retinal disorders.