Talah Hasanni
Project: Understanding how the kidney controls magnesium levels
“Research has taught me to embrace what I do not know, because those gaps in our understanding are where curiosity begins and where some of the most interesting questions come from. Not knowing is not a limitation; it is an invitation to keep learning.”
Summary: Magnesium is essential for healthy nerve, muscle, immune, heart and bone function.
Even small changes in magnesium levels can cause noticeable health effects, including muscle cramps, fatigue, irregular heart rhythms and problems with bone strength. Because so many systems depend on magnesium, the body must regulate how much is kept in the bloodstream. This balance is achieved through a coordinated process involving diet and the intestine, bone and kidney. We obtain magnesium from food; we absorb some of it through the gut, store a large portion in our bones, and the kidney decides how much to remove or keep.
The kidney plays a particularly important role because whatever magnesium enters the urine may be permanently lost from the body. One part of the kidney, called the proximal tubule, reabsorbs a significant amount of magnesium before it reaches the bladder. However, scientists still do not know how magnesium crosses this part of the kidney. Delineating the molecular details that make up this pathway is important because magnesium disorders are common in both children and adults, yet treatment options remain limited.
Our lab team recently discovered two proteins, claudin-2 and claudin-12, that help the kidney reabsorb calcium from the proximal tubule. Since magnesium and calcium share similar chemical properties, we propose that these same proteins may also control magnesium reabsorption. To test this idea, we will study animal models that are genetically modified to lack claudin-2, claudin-12, or both. We will measure magnesium levels in the blood, urine and stool to determine whether these proteins are required to maintain healthy magnesium balance.
By defining how the kidney handles magnesium at a molecular level, this project could lay the groundwork for improving the diagnosis and treatment of magnesium disorders in the future.
Talah Hasanni was supervised by Dr. Todd Alexander in the Department of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. Her WCHRI summer studentship was funded by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. She is now in the doctor of medicine program at the University of Calgary.
Read more about WCHRI’s training awards for students at all levels and generous grants for researchers. See the rest of the 2026 summer studentship recipients here.
