Cordero-Vásquez
Research Group
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center 
                  Department of Physiology
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Check out our latest paper, a collaboration between our research group and the groups of Larry T. Reiter, Ugo Mayor, Anatomic Incorporated, and our former Postdoc Pako Javier Sierra-Valdez:

Romero LO, Caires R, Victor AK, Ramirez J, Sierra-Valdez FJ, Walsh P, Truong V, Lee J, Mayor U, Reiter LT, Vásquez V, Cordero-Morales JF. Linoleic acid improves PIEZO2 dysfunction in a mouse model of Angelman Syndrome. Nature Communications 14, 1167 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36818-0.
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Dr. Julio Cordero-Morales and Dr. Valeria Vásquez were awarded with an R01 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to study the role of sensory receptors in Angelman syndrome, from 02/15/2023 - 01/31/2028.


Check out our latest paper, a collaboration between the research groups of Dr. Patapoutian, Dr. Wilkinson, Dr. Chesler, and Dr. Vásquez:
Ma S, Dubin A.E., Romero L.O., Loud M., Salazar A., Chu, S., Klier, N., Masri S., Zhang, Y., Wang Y, Chesler A.T., Wilkinson K., Vásquez V, Marshall K.S., Patapoutian A. 2023. Excessive mechanotransduction in sensory neurons causes joint contractures. Science. 379 (6628): 201-206. doi: 10.1126/science.add3598.  [Covered by “Perspective” in Science].

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Our graduate student Luis O. Romero was profiled by The University of Tennessee Health Science Center Magazine. Check the profile here.
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Our paper "Genetic- and diet-induced w-3 fatty acid enrichment enhances TRPV4-mediated vasodilation in mice" By Rebeca Caires et al. in Cell Reports made the Journal Cover!!! 
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 The painting was made by Rebeca in watercolor on cold-pressed paper.
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Dr. Tanbir Ahammad was awarded with the 2022 Postdoctoral Matching Salary Support from the Neuroscience Institute at UTHSC.

Graduate Students Briar Bell and Luis Romero​ were awarded with the CGHS Travel Awards/John Autian Student Enrichment Fund to present at the 66th annual meeting of Biophysical Society in San Francisco, CA which is scheduled to take place February 19-23, 2022.  

Graduate Student Briar Bell was awarded with the Outstanding Graduate Student Award from the Department of Physiology at UTHSC, December 2021.

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​Graduate Student Briar Bell has been selected as a recipient of a 2022 Travel Award to present his abstract at the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting.


Graduate Student Luis O. Romero received the 2021 College of Graduate Health Sciences Cell Biology & Physiology Track Outstanding Student and the Lee & Jennie Beaumont Endowment Awards.
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Our newest Journal of General Physiology paper "C. elegans PEZO-1 is a mechanosensitive ion channel involved in food sensation" (Millet et al.) was highlighted at JGP Research News: Worms find PEZO-1’s function easy to swallow. 
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Dr. Jungsoo Lee was awarded with the 2021 Research Scholar Matching Salary Support from the Neuroscience Institute at UTHSC. March 2021 - February 2022.

Dr. Valeria Vásquez, in collaboration with Dr. Alexander Chesler, was awarded a grant from the NIH Bench-to-Bedside and Back Program (2021-2023)

Check out our newest paper:
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Caires R, Bell B, Lee J, Romero LO, Vásquez V*,  Cordero-Morales JF*. 2020. Deficiency of inositol monophosphatase activity decreases phosphoinositide lipids and enhances TRPV1 function in vivo. Journal of Neuroscience 25 November 2020, JN-RM-0803-2. *Corresponding authors.
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Dr. Valeria Vásquez was named among the top 100 inspiring Hispanic-Latinx scientists in America by Cell Mentor.  Cell Mentor, an online resource from Cell Press and Cell Signaling Technology, selected the 100 scientists “based on scholarly achievements, mentoring excellence, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion” in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Please click here to see the UTHSC news release.


Dr. Julio Cordero-Morales was awarded with an R21 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), from 07/2020 to 6/2022.

Dr. Valeria Vásquez, in collaboration with Dr. Avi Priel, was awarded a grant from the United States - Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), from 2020-2024.
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Dr. Cordero-Vásquez and Dr. Vásquez were awarded with the Neuroscience Research Support Grant from the Neuroscience Institute at UTHSC (March 2020-February 2021).

Graduate Student Luis Romero was appointed for three years (2020-2023) as a member of the Education Committee of the Biophysical Society.

Check out our latest paper, a collaboration between the research groups of Dr. Chesler, Dr. Cordero-Morales and Dr. Vásquez: 
Romero LO, Caires R, Nickolls A, Chesler AT, Cordero-Morales JF, and Vásquez V. 2020. A dietary fatty acid counteracts neuronal mechanical sensitization. Nature Communications 11, 2997 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16816-2.

Graduate Student Luis Romero​ was awarded with the CGHS Travel Awards/John Autian Student Enrichment Fund to present at the 64th annual meeting of Biophysical Society in San Diego, CA which is scheduled to take place February 15-19, 2020.  

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Graduate Student Luis Romero​ was awarded with the 2020 Belz Family Scholarship Endowment Fund. This Scholarship is awarded to incoming students based on scholastic ability, leadership potential, and dedication to the health sciences as a career and profession.

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Dr. Jungsoo Lee was awarded with the 2020 Research Scholar Matching Salary Support from the Neuroscience Institute at UTHSC. January 2020 - December 2020.

Graduate Student Briar Bell won the J. Paul Quigley Memorial Scholarship from the Department of Physiology.

Luis Romero won the best student Presentation Award at the Physiology Department Retreat held at the Memphis Botanic Garden, Memphis, November 14th 2019.

Dr. Valeria Vásquez to receive the 2020 ​Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award from the Biophysical Society.
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Dr. Valeria Vásquez was awarded with an R01 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, from 08/2019 to 07/2024.
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Check out Dr. Vásquez' group latest paper:
Romero LO, Massey AE, Mata-Daboin AD, Sierra-Valdez FJ, Chauhan SC, Cordero-Morales JF, and Vásquez V. 2018. Dietary fatty acids fine-tune Piezo1 mechanical response. Nature Communications. Mar 13;10(1):1200.

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Dr. Rebeca Caires was awarded with the 2018 Postdoctoral Matching Salary Support from the Neuroscience Institute at UTHSC.

Check out our latest paper, a collaboration between the research groups of Dr. Faraldo-Gómez, Dr. Priel, and Dr. Vásquez:
Geron M, Kumar R, Zhou W, Faraldo-Gómez JD, Vásquez V*, and Priel A*. 2018. TRPV1 pore turret dictates distinct DkTx and capsaicin gating. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Published ahead of print November 21, 2018. 
*Corresponding authors.

Our Research Assistant Luis O Romero received a Travel Award to assist to the 72nd Annual Symposium of the Society of General Physiologists in Woods Hole, MA.

Check out Dr. Cordero-Morales' group latest paper:
Sierra-Valdez F, Azumaya CM, Romero LO, Nakagawa T*, Cordero-Morales JF. 2018. Structure-function analyses of the ion channel TRPC3 reveal that its cytoplasmic domain allosterically modulates channel gating. Journal of Biological Chemistry. *Corresponding authors.

Check out Dr. Cordero-Morales' group latest paper:
Azumaya CM, Sierra-Valdez F, Cordero-Morales JF*, Nakagawa T*. 2018. Cryo-EM structure of the cytoplasmic domain of murine transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily C member 6 (TRPC6). Journal of Biological Chemistry. *Corresponding authors.

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Check out our latest opinion:
Cordero-Morales, JF and Vásquez, V. 2018 How lipids contribute to ion channel function, a fat perspective on direct and indirect interactions. Current Opinion in Structural Biology, 51:1–7.


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Dr. Rebeca Caires was awarded with the 2018 Postdoctoral Matching Salary Support from the Neuroscience Institute at UTHSC.


Dr. Julio Cordero-Morales was awarded with an RO1 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, from 01/2018 to 12/2022.
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Check out our newest paper:
Caires R, Sierra-Valdez  F, Millet JRM, Herwig JD, Roan E, Vásquez V*, Cordero-Morales JF*. 2017. Omega-3 Fatty Acids Modulate TRPV4 Function Through Plasma Membrane Remodeling. Cell Reports, 21: 246-258. *Corresponding authors.


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Check out Dr. Cordero-Morales latest paper:
​​Velisetty P, Stein R, Sierra-Valdez F, Vásquez V, Cordero-Morales JF. 2017. Expression and Purification of the Pain Receptor TRPV1 for Spectroscopic Analysis. Scientific Reports. 7: 9861.


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Dr. Francisco Sierra was awarded with a Fellowship (2016-2018) from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT, México).  


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Dr. Valeria Vásquez was profiled in the Biophysical Society Newsletter. Check her profile here.


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The CV Lab, in collaboration with Dr. Avi Priel, was awarded a start-up grant from the United States - Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), from 2016-2018.


Scientist Development Grant from the American Heart Association (Association Wide) was awarded to Valeria Vásquez, from 2016-2019.
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Scientist Development Grant from the American Heart Association (Greater Southeast Affiliate) was awarded to Julio Cordero-Morales, from 2015-2018.


Dr. Valeria Vásquez was awarded with the Eicosanoid Research Foundation 
"Young Investigator" Award, at the 14th International Bioactive Lipids Conference in
Budapest, Hungary – July 12 - 15, 2015

Sensory Biology: It Takes Piezo2 to Tango
Current Biology Dispatch
Valeria Vásquez, Gregory Scherrer, Miriam B. Goodman.
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