Enrique Rodriguez-Boulan Laboratory

erd2010 at med.cornell.edu

Erwin De La Fuente

Post-Doctoral Associate

Erwin was born and raised in Chile. He obtained his Ph.D. from Catholic University of Chile working on traffic and polarity in epithelial MDCK cells. Before he joined Enrique's lab, he worked on the participation of unfolded protein response (UPR) in prostate cancer. Joining our laboratory in August 2009, Erwin is interested in the molecular mechanism of traffic and polarity of proteins involved in retinal diseases, specifically those in Retinal Pigmentary Epithelium (RPE).

dig2003 at med.cornell.edu

Diego Gravotta

Assistant Research Professor

Diego received his Ph.D. from the University of Cordoba in Argentina with studies on the molecular signature of clathrin coated and synaptic vesicles in the brain. He found that these vesicles shared an identical set of gangliosides with their precursor, the plasmalemma, but selectively sorted out cholesterol during their generation (Biochem. J.,1985). Since then he has been fascinated by the intricacy of membrane trafficking, a fundamental process that is intimately intertwined with homeostasis and pathology in humans. At New York University he developed in vitro models that reconstituted various stages of membrane protein trafficking of the secretory pathway. These studies allowed him to unveil the participation of GTP binding proteins in these processes (J. Cell Biol., 1990; J. Cell Sci., 1996). Currently at Weill Cornell Medical College, in the laboratory of Enrique Rodriguez-Boulan, he dissects the molecular machinery that orchestrates sorting of membrane proteins in polarized cells. His recent work has provided evidence for key roles of clathrin (Nature, 2008) and the clathrin adaptors AP-1B (PNAS, 2007) and AP-1A (Dev. Cell, 2012) in basolateral protein sorting.

gul2008 at med.cornell.edu

Guillermo Lehmann Mantaras

Post-Doctoral Associate

Pew Fellow

Guillermo was born in Santa Fe, Argentina and obtained his MD from the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires. Guided by his interest in epithelial cell biology, he joined the Ph.D. program in Biological Sciences at the National University of Rosario (Argentina) where he addressed the molecular basis of hepatocyte bile secretion and cholestasis. After his thesis dissertation, Guillermo obtained a Fulbright scholarship and continued his research at the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Mayo Clinic. Guillermo was awarded a PEW postdoctoral fellowship and joined our laboratory in 2011. He is currently focused on the cell-cell interactions involved in the terminal photoreceptor differentiation, specifically on the role of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in photoreceptor outer segment morphogenesis.

mnociari at med.cornell.edu

Marcelo Nociari

Assistant Research Professor

Marcelo was born in Argentina where he earned a B.S. in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. in Immunology at the University of Buenos Aires. In 1996, he arrived to the US to pursue postdoctoral studies in aging and innate immunity. Marcelo joined our group in September 2010 as an Assistant Professor to focus on the development of small drugs for treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration. His studies have led to a patent (in course). In addition, he is interested in the inflammatory pathways elicited by the accumulation of lipofuscin-bisretinoid deposits in the retina. Understanding this should provide novel pharmacological targets for treatment of patients with lipofuscin-driven retinal degenerations and AMD.

anp2026 at med.cornell.edu

Andres Perez Bay

Post-Doctoral Associate

Andres was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and earned his MD and PhD in Neurosciences (focus: Neurosecretion) from the University of Buenos Aires and joined our group in 2009. His current research focuses on how recycling pathways mediate surface membrane polarity in regular epithelia, which express the clathrin adaptor AP-1B and in specialized epithelia, such as retinal pigment epithelium and kidney proximal tubule, which lack AP-1B. He is also involved in a project focused on the development of small drugs for treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration. He has a special interest in the development of new technologies and cellular assays.

sbs2003 at med.cornell.edu

Susana Salvarezza

Research Associate

Susana Salvarezza received her PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Cordoba, Argentina. She approaches a variety of cell polarity questions using quantitative live imaging microscopy and immunofluorescence. Her current main goal is to understand the role of the actin cytoskeleton in protein sorting and polarized trafficking at the level of the Golgi complex. She also actively collaborates in other related projects with colleagues from Cornell and other Universities.

rps2001 at med.cornell.edu

Ryan Schreiner

Post-Doctoral Associate

Endocrinology Research Fellow

Ryan received his Ph.D. in Physiology, Biophysics and Systems Biology from Weill Cornell Medical College Graduate School. He is interested both in cell biology questions and technology development. He focuses primarily on the physiological role of the epithelial-specific clathrin adaptor AP1B in development and its role in polarized sorting in epithelia.