Shaimar González Morales, M.S.
Ph.D. Student
miRNA-mediated extracellular matrix remodeling
Structural and functional support for a tissue is provided by the extracellular matrix. The extracellular matrix is remodeled during development to support organ expansion for efficient secretion and/or absorption and in cancer, provides stiffness to the tissue during tumor initiation and progression. My research focuses on miRNA-mediated interaction between cells and the extracellular matrix in lung development and disease with the goal of understanding the mechanisms underlying cancer progression. The insights obtained from the processes critical for development that can be aberrantly activated in adult tissues will give us new approaches to treat, and possibly prevent, lung diseases that currently lack efficient therapeutic strategies.
Related diseases: lung cancer, lung failure, early embryonic lethality
Techniques: advanced fluorescence, brightfield, and 2-photon microscopy; molecular biology; computational biology; cell, organoid and organ culture
Education
M.S., Biological Sciences, Marshall University, 2015
B.S., Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, 2011
Awards
• FAES Academic Programs Student Scholarship, 2020
• Science Alliance Leadership Training Fellowship, 2018
• NIH Intramural Training Award, 2018
• Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, 2018
• NIH Intramural Training Award, 2017
• Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Honorable Mention, 2017
• Yale Ciencia Academy Fellowship, 2017
• SACNAS National Conference Travel Award, 2016
• NIH Intramural Research Training Award, 2016
• NIH Summer Intramural Research Training Award, 2015
• SACNAS National Conference Travel Award, 2014
• NCI-Cancer Research Training Award, 2014
• Marshall University Department of Biological Sciences Travel Award, 2014
• Marshall University - Dr. Leonard J. Deutsch Graduate College Professional Development Fund, 2014
• Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, 2013
• Legislative Scholarship, 2010
• Academic Competitiveness Grant, 2006
Publications
Abstract
Zhang Y, Yu X,Gonzalez S, Almasri S, Bleris L and Pertsemlidis A. Identifying biomarkers of metastasis through biosynthetic tagging.In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl): Abstract nr 1076.doi: 10.1158/1538-7445.AM2018-1076
Wang X, Zhao L, Ma W, Zhang Y, Gonzalez SR, Fan J, Kretschmer F, Badea TC, Qian H, and Wong WT. Tamoxifen provides structural and functional rescue in murine models of photoreceptor degeneration. Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Baltimore, Maryland, May 7–11, 2017.
Zhao L, Zabel MK, Zhang Y, Gonzalez SR, Ma W, Wang X, Fariss RN, and Wong WT. CX3CR1 deficiency affects microglial phagocytosis in rd10 retinal degeneration. Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Seattle, Washington, May 1–5, 2016.
González-Morales S, and Zhu G. Functional Studies of Ptchd3 during Spermatogenesis. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol.- Animal 2014;50(Suppl 1):39. doi: 10.1007/s11626-014-9765-y
Journal Article
González Morales SR, Liu C, Blankenship H and Guo-Zhang Z. Mouse Ptchd3 Is a Non-essential Gene. Gene: X 2020;100032(5):1-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gene.2020.100032
Wang X, Zhao L, Zhang Y, Ma W, Gonzalez SR, Fan J, Kretschmer F, Badea T, Qian H, and Wong WT. Tamoxifen provides structural and functional rescue in murine models of photoreceptor degeneration. Journal of Neuroscience 2017;37(12):3294-3310. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2717-16.2017
Zabel M, Zhao L, Zhang Y, Gonzalez SR, Ma W, Wang X, Fariss R N, and Wong WT. Microglial phagocytosis and activation underlying photoreceptor degeneration is regulated by CX3CL1-CX3CR1 signaling in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa. Glia 2016;64(9):1479-91. doi: 10.1002/glia.23016
Book Chapter & Review Article
González Morales SR and Yamada KM. Cell and matrix dynamics in branching morphogenesis. In: Lanza, R., Langer, R., And J. Vacanti, editors. Principles of Tissue Engineering. Academic Press 2019. In press.
Yamada KM, Collins JW, Cruz Walma DA, Doyle AD, Gonzalez Morales S,Lu J, Matsumoto K, Nazari SS, Sekiguchi R, Shinsato Y and Wang S. Extracellular matrix dynamics in cell migration, invasion, and tissue morphogenesis. International Journal of Experimental Pathology 2019;100(3):144-152.doi: 10.1111/iep.12329.