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Erik A. Rodriguez

My lab develops new fluorescent proteins, protein labeling tags, and tools for imaging human maladies.

Throughout my doctoral and post-doctoral training, I have pursued research in biological and chemical tool development to elucidate biology.

In my doctoral work at Caltech with Dennis A. Dougherty and Henry A. Lester, I developed orthogonal suppressor tRNAs to site-specifically incorporate multiple unnatural amino acids in vivo. I received broad training in chemical biology, biochemistry, and neurobiology.

My postdoctoral work at UCSD with Roger Y. Tsien enhanced my expertise to include evolving and characterizing fluorescent proteins, fluorescence imaging, cell culture, and animal imaging. I enjoy collaborating to gain knowledge in diverse fields and to ensure my tools are utilized. The newly evolved fluorescent protein is biophysically the brightest far-red fluorescent protein created, so far, and comparable to jellyfish derived fluorescent proteins.

Richard Ting (Weill Cornell Medicine) and I developed dual-modality imaging (near-infrared fluorescence and positron emission tomography) agents to image cancer, strokes, and cerebrospinal fluid in living mice, which will be tested in humans.

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GW Virtual Dept. of Chemistry Party & CCAS Commencement 2021

GW Virtual Dept. of Chemistry Party & CCAS Commencement 2020

EDUCATION

2002 Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Chemistry with Honors. California Institute of Technology (Caltech).


2009 Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Chemistry. Thesis Advisor: Dennis A. Dougherty, George Grant Hoag Professor of Chemistry. California Institute of Technology (Caltech).


2017 Postdoctoral Research Scholar & Staff Scientist. Mentor: Roger Y. Tsien, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Professor of Pharmacology & Chemistry and Biochemistry, & 2008 Nobel Laureate. University of California, San Diego.

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

2021 Addgene Blue Flame Award. pLenti-smURFP sent to >100 labs. >600 plasmids shared with labs.

2020 GW Postdoc Association Mentorship Award

2009-2012 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship, NIH.

2009 Demetriades-Tsafka-Kokkalis Prize in Biotechnology or Related Fields: This prize annually honors the best Caltech Ph.D. thesis submitted in the given category.

2008 Travel Grant from American Chemical Society Division of Biological Chemistry for ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA.

2002-2005 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship

2002 Cambridge Scholars Program, University of Cambridge, England

2002 Benjamin A. Gilman Undergraduate Study Abroad Scholarship

Patents

  1. Mattson, S., Montecinos-Franjola, F., Csikai, N., Zitoun, L., & Rodriguez, EA.. “Single PCR mammalian expression generated array (MEGA) directed evolution of biomolecules.” 2021 US Provisional Application No. 63/290,024. Patent covers a faster directed evolution of biomolecules that removes most molecular biology.
  2. Rodriguez, EA., Tran, GN., Lin, JL, Ting, R., & Tsien, RY.. “Allophycocyanin alpha-subunit evolved labeling proteins (smURFPs).” 2019 US Patent. No.: US20180201655A1. Patent covers variants of smURFP and synthesis of biliverdin analogues.

Abstracts and Presentations

  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2021 “Tools to Image in Animals and Humans.” Oral presentation. Pacifichem, Biological Symposium #58 Chemical Tools for Imaging Biology Beyond the Culture Dish, Honolulu, HI.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2021 “Tools to Image in Animals and Humans.” Oral presentation. Pacifichem, Organic Symposium #353 Probe Design Guided Research for Multimodal Molecular Imaging, Honolulu, HI.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2021 “Tools to Image in Animals and Humans.” Oral presentation. Pacifichem, Nanotechnology Symposium #332 Chemistry and Applications of Protein and Virus-Based Nanotechnologies, Honolulu, HI.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2021 “Tools to Image Single Molecules to Human Disease.” Invited seminar talk, GW Dept. of Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine in the School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Virtual Meeting.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2021 “Evolution of Novel Fluorescent Proteins to Develop Imaging Tools For Cellular & Human Disease.” Invited seminar talk, Vassar College Dept. of Chemistry, Virtual Meeting.
  1. Almogbil, H., Daszynski, C., Rodriguez, EA., Singh, T., Stepp, MA., & Zderic, V.. 2020 “Therapeutic ultrasound for improving the topical corneal delivery of macromolecules.” Abstract submitted, Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting, Virtual Meeting.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. September 2020 “My experience as a postdoctoral scholar in a Nobel Laureate’s laboratory.” Invited Speaker Award. GW Postdoc Association's Annual Postdoc Appreciation Day, Virtual Meeting.
  1. Lin, J., Zbela, A., Devenish, E., Lockyer, J., Reading, A., Gell, D., & Rodriguez, EA.. 2020 “Optogenetic Manipulation of Synaptic Plasticity and Intracellular Signaling.” Abstract selected for poster, Sixth Annual BRAIN Initiative Investigators Meeting, Virtual Meeting.
  1. Rodriguez,EA.. 2019 “Tools to image single molecules to human disease.” Invited speaker, NIH BRAIN Initiative® Chemogenetics Workshop, Rockville, MD. Permanent link to all presentations: https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=34961
  1. Rodriguez,EA.. 2019 “Tools to image single molecules to human disease.” Invited speaker, The Menzies Institute for Medical Research in Hobart, Tasmania.
  1. Rodriguez,EA.. 2019 “Tools to image single molecules to human disease.” Invited speaker, 14th International Conference on Tetrapyrrole Photoreceptors of Photosynthetic Organisms (ICTPPO), Sydney, Australia.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2019 “Using fluorescent proteins and genetically encoded sensors.” Invited speaker. GW Nanofabrication & Imaging Center (GWNIC) Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy Workshop, Washington, DC.
  1. Almogbil, H., Daszynski, C., Rodriguez, EA., Singh, T., Stepp, MA., & Zderic, V.. 2019 “Therapeutic ultrasound for improving the topical corneal delivery of macromolecules.” Abstract selected for presentation by H. Almogbil. Acoustical Society of America Meeting, Louisville, KY.
  1. Lin, J., Zbela, A., Devenish, E., Lockyer, J., Reading, A., Gell, D., & Rodriguez, EA.. 2019 “Optogenetic Manipulation of Synaptic Plasticity and Intracellular Signaling.” Abstract selected for poster, Fifth Annual BRAIN Initiative Investigators Meeting, Washington, DC.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2018 “Tools to image single molecules to human disease.” Abstract selected for presentation, International Meeting on Optical Biosensors, Ghent, Belgium.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2018 “Tools to image single molecules to human disease.” Invited speaker, Janelia Research Campus, Fluorescent Proteins and Biological Sensors VI, Ashburn, VA.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2018 “Using fluorescent proteins and genetically encoded sensors.” Invited speaker. GW Nanofabrication & Imaging Center (GWNIC) Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy Workshop, Washington DC.
  1. Rodriguez, EA., 2018 “Developing Tools to Image and Treat Cancer.” Invited speaker. GW Cancer Center Basic Sciences Scientific Retreat, Washington, DC.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2018 “Developing Tools to Image and Treat Cancer.” GW Cancer Center Research in Progress: What Are Our Faculty Currently Researching? Invited speaker. Washington, DC.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2018 “Developing Tools to Image Single Molecules to Human Disease.” GW Nanofabrication & Imaging Center (GWNIC) Lunch & Learn. Invited speaker. Washington, DC.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2017 “Developing Tools to Image Single Molecules to Human Disease.” Invited speaker. GW Biomedical Engineering Day: Innovations in Biomedical Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC.
  1. Yang, MH., Ferri, CGL., Thunemann, M, Sadegh, S., Saisan, PA., Rodriguez, EA., Adams, SR., Vinogradov, SA., Devor, A., & Fainman, Y. 2017 “Non-degenerative two-photon excitation for increased fluorophore brightness and deep tissue imaging.” Abstract selected for poster. Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2017 “smURFP, a far-red fluorescent protein evolved from a cyanobacterial phycobilisome.” Invited speaker. NIH Future Research Leaders Conference, Bethesda, MD.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2017 “smURFP, a far-red fluorescent protein evolved from a cyanobacterial phycobilisome.” Invited speaker. 13th International Conference on Tetrapyrrole Photoreceptors of Photosynthetic Organisms (ICTPPO), Chicago, IL.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2017 “A far-red fluorescent protein evolved from a cyanobacterial phycobiliprotein.” Invited seminar speaker. University of California, Riverside, CMDB/GGB Course, Riverside, CA.
  1. Rodriguez, EA., Lin, JY. & Tsien, RY.. 2016 “A far-red fluorescent protein evolved from a cyanobacterial phycobiliprotein.” Invited speaker. Janelia Research Campus, Fluorescent Proteins and Biological Sensors V, Ashburn, VA.
  1. Li, Y., Barber, Q., Paproski, R., Enterina, JR., Rodriguez, EA., Tsien, RY., Campbell, RE., & Zemp, R.. 2016 “Engineering a near-infrared dark chromoprotein optimized for photoacoustic imaging.” Abstract for poster. SPIE, Photons Plus Ultrasound: Imaging and Sensing, San Francisco, CA.
  1. Rodriguez, EA., Lin, JY. & Tsien, RY.. 2016 “A far-red fluorescent protein evolved from a cyanobacterial phycobiliprotein.” Invited speaker. Janelia Research Campus, Junior Scientist Workshop on Protein Engineering, Ashburn, VA.
  1. Rodriguez, EA., Tran, GN., & Tsien,RY.. 2015 “A far-red fluorescent protein evolved from the phycobilisome of a cyanobacteria.” Invited speaker. Pacifichem, Symposium #180 Fluorescent and Luminescent Proteins: New Chemistries and Functions, Honolulu, HI.
  1. Rodriguez, EA.. 2015 “A far-red fluorescent protein evolved from the phycobilisome of a cyanobacteria.” Invited speaker. 25th Annual Cytometry Development Workshop, San Diego, CA.
  1. Rodriguez, EA., Ngo, JT., Palida, SF., Adams, SR., Mackey, MR., Ramachandra, R., Ellisman, MH., & Tsien, RY.. 2015 “New molecular tools for light and electron microscopy.” Roger Y. Tsien was invited as plenary speaker. Microscopy & Microanalysis, Portland, OR.
  1. Rodriguez, EA., Tran, GN., Lin,JY., Gross, LA., & Tsien,RY.. 2014 “A photostable, far-red fluorescent protein evolved from cyanobacteria.” Abstract selected for oral presentation after keynote speaker, WE. Moerner (2014 Chemistry Nobel Laureate), FB3 Fluorescent Biomolecules & Their Building Blocks: Design & Applications, La Jolla, CA.
  1. Pantoja, R., Rodriguez, EA., Tzlil, S., Wade, L., Dougherty, DA., & Lester, HA.. 2009 “Characterizing the architecture of nicotinic receptors with quantum dot-based fluorescence microscopy.” Abstract selected for poster presentation. Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, Boston, MA.
  1. Rodriguez, EA., Lester, HA., & Dougherty, DA.. 2008 “Multiple unnatural amino acid incorporation in vivo: Development of improved suppressor tRNAs.” Abstract selected for poster presentation. American Chemical Society national meeting, New Orleans, LA.
  1. Pantoja, R., Rodriguez, EA., Dibas, MI., Dougherty, DA., & Lester, HA.. 2007 “Detection of fluorescent unnatural amino acids, ligands, and GFP moieties incorporated into single nicotinic receptor molecules.” Abstract selected for poster presentation. Biophysical Society annual meeting, Baltimore, MD.

Sharing Technology

Plasmid DNA of fluorescent proteins were requested >600 times in >25 countries from Addgene. I received the Addgene Blue Flame Award in January 2021 for pLenti-smURFP being shared >100 times. I provide advice and answer questions of any researcher using my material by email or Twitter. A Wikipedia page was created for detailed help and protocols: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SmURFP.

Manuscript Reviews

I have reviewed papers for Nature Biotechnology, Nature Methods, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Scientific Reports, and Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences.

Reviewed Grants

I have reviewed grants for National Science Foundation.

Media Coverage

  1. MatTek Life Sciences. Sharing Your Science! Erik A. Rodriguez was a featured researcher. February 2021. https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?u=1c4d6df528dfadd7709bd6d70&id=d8ec78bfc6

 

  1. The 2020 #RealTimeChem Week Awards. Chemistry & Engineering News (C&EN), December 2020. Theme was #ChemAtHome and Erik A. Rodriguez won for #EverydayFluorescence. Article featured online and in print. https://cen.acs.org/education/outreach/Best-ChemAtHome/98/web/2020/12

 

  1. Erik A. Rodriguez wins the 2020 Optical Society and Optics & Photonics News International Photo Contest! December 2020. Article featured online and in print. https://www.osa-opn.org/home/gallery/photo_contests/photo_contest_2020/

 

  1. Worldwide, live broadcast and permanent video on NIH website. Rodriguez, EA.. December 2019 “Tools to image single molecules to human disease.” Invited speaker, NIH BRAIN Initiative® Chemogenetics Workshop, Rockville, MD. (Presented after Mikhail Shapiro (Caltech), 6 h: 42 min.) Permanent link to all presentations: https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=34961

 

  1. Periodic table inspired chemistree competition winners crowned. December 2018. The International Chemistree Competition is sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK. Lab won most ‘chemified’ Christmas tree with strontium aluminate, europium, & anthracene thread. https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/periodic-table-inspired-chemistree-competition-winners-crowned/3009936.article

 

  1. The 2018 #RealTimeChem Week Awards. Chemistry & Engineering News (C&EN), November 2018. I won for #BioChem and runner up for #AnalyticalChem. Article featured online and in print. https://cen.acs.org/people/awards/2018-RealTimeChem-Week-Awards/96/web/2018/11

 

  1. Living Art: When a Chemistry Lab Doubles as an Art Studio, CCAS Spotlight, April 2018. https://www.gwhatchet.com/2018/04/23/chemistry-professor-crafts-fluorescent-art-using-lab-materials/

 

  1. Chemistry professor crafts fluorescent art using lab materials, The GW Hatchet, April 2018. https://columbian.gwu.edu/living-art-when-chemistry-lab-doubles-art-studio

 

  1. Chemistry in Pictures: Brilliant bacteria, Chemistry & Engineering News (C&EN), January 2018. https://cen.acs.org/articles/96/web/2018/01/Chemistry-Pictures-Brilliant-bacteria.html

 

  1. Chemistry in Pictures: An eye for dye, Chemistry & Engineering News (C&EN), December 2017. https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/web/2017/12/Chemistry-Pictures-eye-dye.html

2019 GW Department of Chemistry Retreat

2019 Assistant Professor Lunch at North Italia.

2019 14th International Conference on Tetrapyrrole Photoreceptors of Photosynthetic Organisms (ICTPPO) in Sydney, Australia.

2019 5th Annual Brain Initiative Investigators Meeting.

Eric Schreiter (Janelia Research Campus), Yulong Li (Peking University School of Life Sciences), Darcy Peterka (Columbia University), Tianyi Mao (OHSU), Lin Tian (UC Davis), Adam Cohen (Harvard), and Loren Looger (Janelia Research Campus).

2018 VIB International Meeting on Biosensors; Ghent, Belgium

2018 The George Washington University Department of Chemistry

2018 George Washington Cancer Center Basic Science Retreat

2017 NIH Future Research Leaders Conference (FRLC) in Bethesda, MD.

2017 13th International Conference on Tetrapyrrole Photoreceptors of Photosynthetic Organisms (ICTPPO) in Chicago, IL.

2016 Past and Present Tsien Lab Members at Janelia Research Campus. Fluorescent Proteins and Biological Sensors V in Ashburn, VA.

2016 Junior Scientist Workshop on Protein Engineering at Janelia Research Campus in Ashburn, VA.

2015 Henry A. Lester Symposium at Caltech in Pasadena, CA.

2009 Roger Y. Tsien Nobel Prize Symposium at University of California, San Diego.

2007 Dennis A. Dougherty Group Photo at Caltech in Pasadena, CA.

2006 Dennis A. Dougherty Group Photo at Caltech in Pasadena, CA.

Awards

Erik A. Rodriguez won first prize in the photographs category of the Elemental Art Contest sponsored by the ACS Division of History of Chemistry (HIST) & the American Chemical Society (ACS)! The images show fluorescence of europium (III) oxide powder excited with UV light. Works were submitted in May 2020 and the awards were delayed a year.

Congratulations to Erik A. Rodriguez for winning Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) 2020 #Everyday Fluorescence for #RealTimeChem #ChemAtHome week! 12-11-20

https://cen.acs.org/education/outreach/Best-ChemAtHome/98/web/2020/12

Erik A. Rodriguez receives the Addgene Blue Flame Award! The award is in recognition of the 100+ requests for pLenti-smURFP (https://www.addgene.org/80349/Opens in a new window). Addgene has shared 586 samples in >25 countries for the Rodriguez Lab! 12-01-20

Erik A. Rodriguez won the 2020 Optical Society (OSA) and Optics & Photonics News (OPN) Photo Contest! Erik will receive a canvas-stretched print, a $250 Amazon gift card, and publication of the winning image in Optics & Photonics News. 12-01-20

Everyday Beauty: Who knew something you eat every day could look so beautiful? Table salt (NaCl) imaged by polarization microscopy with a Nomarski prism.

—Erik A. Rodriguez, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

https://www.osa-opn.org/home/gallery/photo_contests/photo_contest_2020

Three of Erik Rodriguez’s Entries were selected as National Winners for the 2019 Wiki Science Competition in the United States! These three submissions were part of the 36 US finalists from 1,144 submissions. On Wikipedia Link

1. Non-photographic media - Fluorescent coral movie

Fluorescent Coral Movie.gif
Link

2. Image Sets - Polarization microscopy of black ink

3. Image Sets - Fluorescence microscopy of cells

The Scientist Magazine #PostYourPosterChallenge winner December 2019!

Two of Erik Rodriguez's submissions to the 2017 Wiki Science Competition in the United States, Birth of a Multi-nucleated Cell and Green Fluorescent Protein Structure, have been named National Winners and will proceed to the International Round!

Birth of a Multi-nucleated Cell

Green Fluorescent Protein Structure -

Made to honor the memory of Roger Y. Tsien

Wikipedia Results & Full Results

Thermo Fisher Scientific Cell Imaging Competition. May 2017.
I won custom shoes with my image!

Eppendorf CELLebrate Your Experiment Contest. February 2017
I won UE Roll 2 Bluetooth speaker, Eppendorf swag, and a party for the Tsien lab!

MatTek Image/Movie Contest. September 2015
I won a free case of imaging dishes!