Dr. José R. Rodríguez-Medina

Professor
Dr. José R. Rodríguez Medina

Contact Info

  • Department of Biochemistry
    School of Medicine
    University of Puerto Rico
    PO Box 365067
    San Juan, P.R. 00936-5067
  • (787) 758-2525, extensions 2299 or 1601

Education

  • Post-doctoral Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1989
    National Institutes of Health
  • PhD Biology, 1986
    Brandeis University
  • MS  Biology, 1980
    UPR – Rio Piedras Campus
  • B.Sc.  Biology, 1978
    UPR – Rio Piedras

There is a worldwide surge in fungal infections due to increased longevity in the human population, prevalence of individuals with compromised immune systems, and widespread use of antibiotics fueling a surge in drug-resistant strains. To design novel strategies to overcome resistance to antifungals, we need to address the gap in knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that enable pathogenic fungi to overcome the metabolic stress of antifungal treatments. Our long-term research goal is to identify key metabolic processes that enable infectious fungi to survive under stress conditions as potential targets for therapeutic antifungals. Our approach is to identify key signaling molecules controlling metabolic mechanisms in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisae that are evolutionarily conserved in pathogenic fungi, and promote fungal survival under conditions of physiological stress. Normal or pathogenic stress conditions that can compromise cellular integrity such as: cell wall damage by chemical agents (antifungal agents, antibiotics, etc.), heat shock, oxidizing chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide, are detected by stress mechanosensor proteins in the plasma membrane of S. cerevisae. These mechanosensor proteins physically interact with specific signaling proteins that transduce stress signals from the fungal cell wall to the cytosol where the signaling machinery initiates the survival response. Our current research is therefore focused on the identification and functional characterization of key signaling proteins that interact with these mechanosensor proteins to confer resistance to antifungal drugs, oxidizing chemicals, and heat stress.

Selected Publications:

  • Nelson Martínez-Matías, Nataliya Chorna, Sahily González–Crespo, Lilliam Villanueva, Ingrid Montes–Rodríguez, et al. “Towards the discovery of biological functions associated with the mechanosensor Mtl1p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae via integrative multi-OMICs analysis.” Scientific Reports, Article DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-86671-8. Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 1;11(1):7411. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-86671-8. PMID: 33795741.
  • Vladimir Vélez-Segarra, Sahily González-Crespo, Ednalise Santiago-Cartagena, Luis E. Vázquez-Quiñones, Nelson Martínez-Matías, et al. “Protein Interactions of the Mechanosensory Proteins Wsc2 and Wsc3 for Stress Resistance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.” G3 (Bethesda). 2020 Sep 2;10(9):3121-3135. doi: 10.1534/g3.120.401468. PMID: 32641451.
  • Ednalise Santiago-Cartagena, Sahily González, Vladimir Velez, Nelson Martínez, Jamie Snider, et al. “Identification and functional testing of novel interacting protein partners for the stress sensors Wsc1p and Mid2p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.” G3 (Bethesda) 2019 Apr 9;9(4):1085-1102. doi: 10.1534/g3.118.200985. PMID: 30733383