Program Staff
Director and PI of the G-RISE Program:
Dra. Carmen Cadilla
Dr. Carmen L. Cadilla holds a B.S. in Chemistry from UPR Mayagüez, an M.S. in Chemistry (Major: Organic Chemistry) from UPR Rio Piedras, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences with a major in Biochemistry from the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Her doctoral work was on chromatin structure using ciliated protozoa as model systems. Her postdoctoral training in molecular biology was at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories-Biology Division, working on gene characterization and regulation of genes by insulin in rat liver and hepatoma cells. Dr.
Cadilla joined the faculty at the UPR School of Medicine in 1990, in the Department of Microbiology, and in 1996 transferred to the Department of Biochemistry, where she directs the laboratory of Human Molecular Genetics and the MBRS-RISE Program of the Medical Sciences Campus. Her research is funded currently by the NCRR RCMI Program of the Medical Sciences Campus and UPR. Her current research focuses on genetic diseases that affect the Puerto Rican population. She teaches a graduate course in molecular biology and the topics of molecular genetics, regulation of gene ex-pression and mechanisms of hormone action to medical, dental and graduate students. She has also coordinated the Protein Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Regulation of Eukaryotic Gene Expression courses in the Department of Biochemistry, as well as participated in the Molecular Physiology course of the Department of Physiology, UPR School of Medicine and the Pharmacogenetics course of the UPR School of Pharmacy. Dr. Cadilla has a joint appointment in the Department of Pediatrics. Research interests are focused on: Structure and function studies of the bHLH proteins of the Twist subfamily. Role of Twist2 in human development. Identification of genes causing disease or genetic conditions in the Puerto Rican population.
Co-Principal Investigators of the G-RISE:
Dr. Jennifer L. Barreto-Estrada
Dr. Jennifer L. Barreto-Estrada is a Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus. Dr. Barreto received her bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. She conducted postdoctoral studies in neuroendocrinology at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus. Currently, Dr. Barreto’s research focuses on the neural basis of drug addiction. By using animal models of addiction, she studies the acquisition and extinction processes of opioid
addiction. Particularly, her laboratory applies extinction training and deep brain stimulation (DBS) as potential adjuncts for extinction-based therapies for treatment-refractory opioid addicts. Dr. Barreto’s research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, including the NIH-NIGMS 1R16GM149491, NIH-SCORE 5SC2DA047809, NCRR-RCMI Program (2G12-RR003051and 8G12-MD007600 (RCMI: Center for Collaborative Research in Health Disparities), the NIH-NIGMS/NCRR-Clinical Research Infrastructure Initiative (P20GM103475 / P20RR016470), the RTRN Corebucks (U54MD008149) and the EARDA program (G11HD046326). Research Areas: Addiction Biology and Behavioral Neuroendocrinology.
Dr. Ricardo González
Dr. Ricardo González Méndez is a Professor in the Department of Radiological Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) School of Medicine, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1989. He was the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the UPR Medical Sciences Campus from 1999-2002. From 2013-2014 he was Interim Dean for Academic Affairs at the UPR Medical Sciences Campus. He is currently the President of the Concurrent Degrees Committee for the MD-PhD programs at the UPR School of Medicine. Dr. Gonzalez has a Ph.D. in Biophysics from Stanford University in California (1987), and postdoctoral studies in NMR and Anesthesia at the University of California-San Francisco (1983-1986). He received a B.S. in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (1978). He is the author of over 50 publications and numerous presentations at national and international conferences. He is co-inventor on a recent patent related to imaging contrast agents. He has significant experience in bioinformatics, biophysics, medical imaging, science and policy, quantitative modeling and analysis, and risk analysis.
Dr. Jorge D. Miranda González
Dr. Jorge D. Miranda is the Director of the Neuroimaging and Electrophysiology Facility and Professor of Physiology at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus. His research is in cell survival and nerve regeneration after trauma to the central nervous system. Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in a series of time- dependent changes at the lesion site, producing a non-permissive or repulsive environment for cell survival and axonal outgrowth. Among the molecular and cellular events triggered by the physical injury to the spinal cord are necrosis, blood vessel damage, formation of free radicals, edema, infiltration of cells from the immune system, inflammation, axotomy, demyelination, apoptosis, and gliosis. The result from these events is the reduction in sensory and locomotor activity. Therefore, a multi-active compound is necessary to target most of the detrimental events initiated by the injury. We are studying the effects of estradiol or tamoxifen, as neuroprotective agents, to improve functional locomotor recovery after SCI.