Nelson Ruiz-Opazo, PhD
Professor, Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute
Biography
Research interests span the molecular genetics of hypertension and target organ complications, and the identification of DEspR (the dual endothelin-1/signal peptide of VEGF receptor) as a novel therapeutic target in cancer with a focus on cancer stem cell (CSC) pathological extended survival in anoikis conditions and adverse metabolic conditions, CSC tumorigenicity and multipotential self-sufficiency to metastasize. More recently, inter-disciplinary collaborations advance translational research into the role of DEspR+ neutrophils in neutrophil-mediated secondary tissue injury relevant to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), COVID19-ARDS, and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).
Research expertise spans molecular and cell biology analysis of cancer stem cells (CSC), CSC-derived tumor cell phenotypes, xenograft modeling using CSCs in nude rat strain, and conducting survival analysis to test efficacy and safety of novel targeted therapies in cancer focusing on high unmet need cancers – pancreatic peritoneal carcinomatosis, glioblastoma. In molecular genetics research, expertise spans GWAS analysis of F2-genetic hypertensive cohorts and associated candidate genes, GWAS analysis of genetic F2 intercross linkage studies of Learning and Memory and associated candidate genes, hypertension genetic studies in isolated human populations, transgenic rat modeling. In ARDS and ICH, expertise spans adaptive application of basic science approaches to ex vivo analysis of neutrophil subsets within the context of the pathological microenvironment present in the patient.
Other Positions
- Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research, Boston University
- Member, Genome Science Institute, Boston University
- Member, Ambulatory Pediatrics, Boston University
Education
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine, PhD
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine, MS
- Universidad Austral de Chile, MS
- Universidad Austral de Chile, BS
Publications
- Published on 4/18/2023
Herrera VLM, Bosch NA, Lok JJ, Nguyen MQ, Lenae KA, deKay JT, Ryzhov SV, Seder DB, Ruiz-Opazo N, Walkey AJ. Circulating neutrophil extracellular trap (NET)-forming 'rogue' neutrophil subset, immunotype [DEspR?+?CD11b?+], mediate multi-organ failure in COVID-19-an observational study. Transl Med Commun. 2023; 8(1):12. PMID: 37096233.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/15/2023
Herrera VLM, Gromisch CM, Decano JL, Pasion KA, Tan GLA, Hua N, Takahashi CE, Greer DM, Ruiz-Opazo N. Anti-DEspR antibody treatment improves survival and reduces neurologic deficits in a hypertensive, spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (hsICH) rat model. Sci Rep. 2023 Feb 15; 13(1):2703. PMID: 36792616.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 2/1/2023
Herrera VLM, Bosch NA, Lok JJ, Nguyen MQ, Lenae KA, deKay JT, Ryzhov SV, Seder DB, Ruiz-Opazo N, Walkey AJ. Circulating neutrophil extracellular trap (NET)-forming 'rogue' neutrophil subset, immunotype [DEspR+CD11b+], mediate multi-organ failure in COVID-19 - an observational study. Res Sq. 2023 Feb 01. PMID: 36778407.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/7/2022
Whitaker RD, Decano JL, Gormley C, Beigie CA, Meisel C, Tan GA, Moran AM, Giordano NJ, Park Y, Huang P, Andersson S, Gantz D, Grant AK, Ruiz-Opazo N, Herrera VLM, Wong JY. Janus USPION modular platform (JUMP) for theranostic ultrasound-mediated targeted intratumoral microvascular imaging and DNA/miRNA delivery. Theranostics. 2022; 12(18):7646-7667. PMID: 36451861.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/4/2022
Carstensen S, Müller M, Tan GLA, Pasion KA, Hohlfeld JM, Herrera VLM, Ruiz-Opazo N. "Rogue" neutrophil-subset [DEspR+CD11b+/CD66b+] immunotype is an actionable therapeutic target for neutrophilic inflammation-mediated tissue injury - studies in human, macaque and rat LPS-inflammation models. Front Immunol. 2022; 13:1008390. PMID: 36275710.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 7/25/2022
Herrera VLM, Takahashi CE, Nguyen MQ, Mosaddeghi JZ, Denis R, Greer DM, Ruiz-Opazo N. "Rogue" [DEspR+CD11b+] neutrophil subset correlates with severity in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. Front Neurol. 2022; 13:935579. PMID: 35959408.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/4/2022
Herrera VLM, Walkey AJ, Nguyen MQ, Gromisch CM, Mosaddhegi JZ, Gromisch MS, Jundi B, Lukassen S, Carstensen S, Denis R, Belkina AC, Baron RM, Pinilla-Vera M, Mueller M, Kimberly WT, Goldstein JN, Lehmann I, Shih AR, Eils R, Levy BD, Ruiz-Opazo N. A targetable 'rogue' neutrophil-subset, [CD11b+DEspR+] immunotype, is associated with severity and mortality in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and COVID-19-ARDS. Sci Rep. 2022 Apr 04; 12(1):5583. PMID: 35379853.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/17/2021
deKay JT, Emery IF, Rud J, Eldridge A, Lord C, Gagnon DJ, May TL, Herrera VLM, Ruiz-Opazo N, Riker RR, Sawyer DB, Ryzhov S, Seder DB. DEspRhigh neutrophils are associated with critical illness in COVID-19. Sci Rep. 2021 11 17; 11(1):22463. PMID: 34789851.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/13/2021
Herrera VLM, Walkey AJ, Nguyen MQ, Gromisch CM, Mosaddhegi JZ, Gromisch MS, Jundi B, Lukassen S, Carstensen S, Denis R, Belkina AC, Baron RM, Pinilla-Vera M, Muller M, Kimberly WT, Goldstein JN, Lehmann I, Shih AR, Eils R, Levy BD, Ruiz-Opazo N. Increased Neutrophil-Subset Associated With Severity/Mortality In ARDS And COVID19-ARDS Expresses The Dual Endothelin-1/VEGFsignal-Peptide Receptor (DEspR): An Actionable Therapeutic Target. Res Sq. 2021 Sep 13. PMID: 34545358.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/14/2021
Gromisch CM, Tan GLA, Pasion KA, Moran AM, Gromisch MS, Grinstaff MW, Carr FJ, Herrera VLM, Ruiz-Opazo N. Humanized anti-DEspR IgG4S228P antibody increases overall survival in a pancreatic cancer stem cell-xenograft peritoneal carcinomatosis ratnu/nu model. BMC Cancer. 2021 Apr 14; 21(1):407. PMID: 33853558.
Read at: PubMed
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