Jose Roberto Rodrigues Reyes

Research Interests: By optogenetically activating the Integrated stress response (ISR) in cells we can induce a state of virtual stress on cells. Thus, we are able to induce the stress response in a single cell and observe its effects on neighboring unstressed cells, giving us a handle to uncover what signals are being secreted to communicate stress cell states. Specifically, I aim to discover secreted factors of the ISR, a conserved pathway found in all eukaryotic organisms that when activated causes a decrease in global protein synthesis to sustain cellular homeostasis. I will assess the effects of virtual stress on neighboring cells using high-content Immunofluorescence staining, RNAseq, and proteomics.