Jose Sanchez Rodriguez

Hi, my name is Jose Luiz Rodriguez. I grew up in Long Beach, California and attended North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. I became interested in the field of science around my junior year in high school. My teachers for chemistry and biology showed me a world that internally motivated me to pursue my new found interest in science.

Once accepted to North Greenville University, my interest towards research was nurtured and developed by the countless professors who dedicated time and knowledge to my time as a student. In particular, one professor, Dr. Dodson, showed me the countless possibilities of research focuses through her courses of Biochemistry, Parasitology, and Advanced Metabolism.

As for my research interests, I am interested in infectious diseases and proteins related to host invasion. Ultimately, my goal as a researcher would be to operate my own clinic and laboratory in cutting edge research for infectious diseases that are poorly funded. In order for me to reach my long term goal, I decided to join PREP@UGA because it was the best path to prepare my future as a graduate student in a top research institute. Prep@UGA is the best program for me due to its focus on the scholars success not only as current post-baccalaureate students, but also in all aspects of professionalism, research, and life as scientist. (As a PREP scholar, I hope and plan to advance my knowledge and skills in all areas of lab research, but also to mature as a scientist in professionalism and conduct.)

During my time at PREP, I will be under the mentorship of Heather Bishop, a fourth year PhD candidate, and my faculty mentor, Dr. Vasant Muralidharan. In our lab we study the deadly malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. This parasite is responsible for almost a million death cases a year, most of them in children and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a eukaryotic pathogen with a complex life cycle, unknown function that is named GRP170, after its yeast homolog. Despite the challenging genetics of P. falciparum, we took a conditional knockdown approach and inhibit the activity of GRP170 in order to study its biological roles under physiological settings. We found that GRP170 inhibition results in parasite death, indicating that it is essential for parasite viability. We also found that upon GRP170 inhibition, the parasite becomes more sensitive to high temperatures, suggesting that GRP170 is involved in heat shock response. Moreover, gameto-cytogenesis was found to be impaired in the mutants, suggesting that it is involved in sexual development.

We are currently designing tools that will enable us to identify potential molecular partners of GRP170. We hope that this project will shed light on the complex mechanisms of protein trafficking in P.falciparum and will help us not only to better understand the biology of this parasite, but also potentially identify new drug targets.

My name is Jose Rodriguez and I am a PREP@UGA scholar.