Raymond L. Rodriguez Explained

Raymond L. Rodriguez
Professor, Scientist, Inventor, Entrepreneur
Birth Place:Fresno, California

Raymond L. Rodriguez (born 1947) is an American professor of biology, specializing in molecular biology, genomics and biotechnology. His current research interests include diet-genome interactions, plant-made pharmaceuticals and the food/brain axis. Rodriguez is also an inventor, and entrepreneur.[1] [2] His research at the University of California, San Francisco in the 1970s helped lay the foundation for the biotechnology industry. He also holds several issued US patents. He is involved in programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion for women and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

Early life and education

The son of migrant farm workers, Rodriguez was born in 1947 in Fresno, California and raised in San Joaquin and Kerman, California. In 1965, he graduated from Kerman Union High School. After graduating from Fresno City College, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from California State University, Fresno in 1969[3] and in the following year he entered the PhD program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Under the supervision of professor Cedric Davern,[4] Rodriguez produced visual autoradiographic evidence for bidirectional replication[5] of the E. coli chromosome. While a UC Santa Cruz graduate student, Rodriguez received a research fellowship from the Ford Foundation in 1973.

Post-doctoral research

After receiving his PhD in 1974, Rodriguez was awarded an A.P. Giannini postdoctoral fellowship to work with professor Herbert W. Boyer in the department of microbiology at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center.[6] In Boyer's laboratory, Rodriguez collaborated with postdoctoral fellow, Francisco Bolivar Zapata (Paco), to construct more efficient and better characterized cloning vectors. Together, they constructed the 4,361 base pair, circular, autonomously replicating, DNA molecule, pBR322, the first general purpose molecular cloning vector approved[7] by the National Institute of Health Guidelines.[8] [9] The abbreviation, “pBR322,” refers to the plasmid “p,” constructed by Bolivar and Rodriguez “BR,” and the last of “322” transformed colonies to be screened for the pBR322[10] plasmid. The 1977 publication describing the construction of pBR322[11] has been cited more than 6,000 times.[12] Soon after its approval by the NIH, pBR322 was used to clone and express the first chemically synthesized gene for the human peptide hormone, somatostatin.[13] The following year, researchers at Harvard University used pBR322 to clone and express rat proinsulin.[14] The main components of pBR322 can be found in many other plasmid vectors, particularly the pUC plasmids designed and constructed by professor Joachim Messing.

In 1976 Rodriguez received fellowships from the National Cancer Institute and the UC President's postdoctoral fellowship program to support plasmid vector research and development.[11]

Career

In 1977, Rodriguez joined the faculty of the University of California, Davis, department of molecular and cellular biology (formerly the genetics department). There, he developed specialized promoter-probe cloning vectors[15] [16] to better understand the regulation of bacterial transcription. In 1998 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences[6] and later their Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award (1992) and the Principles of Community Award (2012), from the UC Davis College of Biological Science.[6]

In 1990, as a member of the Physical Mapping Group, Rodriguez gained experience with genomics by participating in the cloning and mapping of the human APOE gene on chromosome 19 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory[17] Shortly thereafter, he created the International Rice Genome Organization,[18] [19] an ad hoc organization of genomics and agriculture experts to develop a strategy for sequencing the rice genome.[20] This strategy was later used by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.[21] The first draft of the rice genome was released on April 5, 2002.[22]

In January 2003, Rodriguez received funds from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to create a Center of Excellence for Nutritional Genomics.[23] [24] The center was a collaborative effort with the Children's Hospital of Oakland Research Institute.[25] Rodriguez served as Center director until 2009.

From 2007 to 2008, he chaired the Committee of Visitors for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Biological Sciences, Plant Genome Research, 3-Year Program Review which assessed the impact of plant genome sequencing on plant biology research.[26]

In 2008 Rodriguez was a Distinguished Lecturer for the USDA-ARS Beltsville Center.[27]

In 2009, Rodriguez received an Honorary Doctorate of Science, from Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara, Japan[6] [28] [29]

In 2010, Rodriguez, with the help of professor Somen Nandi,[30] formed Global HealthShare Initiative (GHS),[31] [32] an outreach and knowledge dissemination program.[33] As GHS's executive director,[34] and vice president of Humanity Beyond Barriers,[35] he helped organized international health projects[36] in India,[37] Bangladesh,[38] and Rwanda.[39]

In 2012, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) funded Rodriguez to engineer a plant-made human butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE), an enzyme used to treat the effects of chemical warfare agents, like sarin gas.[40] Using the fermentation of rice cells transformed with the human BuChE gene, the plant-made enzyme was found to be as effective as human-sourced BuChE in neutralizing sarin.[41]

In 2015, he was an invited presenter to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).[42] [6]

In 2016, Rodriguez was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[43]

In 2018, Rodriguez received the Outstanding Alumni award from Fresno State University, College of Science & Mathematics[6] [44] and was appointed a Distinguish Collaborative Research Professor at Osaka University.

In 2019, Rodriguez directed an interdisciplinary research collaboration project involving the University of California, Davis, Osaka University and Kirin Holdings Co, Japan to use plant cell fermentation to produce safe, effective and affordable human growth factors for stem cell cures.[45] [46]

On June 16, 2021, Osaka University awarded him an honorary degree in recognition of his contributions 'in building the relationship between the two universities, promoting educational exchange, and performing educational and research activity'.[47]

Research discoveries and accomplishments

As assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Genetics, Rodriguez published two edited volumes entitled “Promoters: Structure and Function” in 1982 with M.J. Chamberlin[48] and “Vectors: A Survey of Molecular Cloning Vectors,” in 1987 with D.T. Denhardt.[49] During this period, Rodriguez developed the first molecular cloning lab course in the nation for undergraduates and graduate students. The course was accompanied by a laboratory manual entitled “Recombinant DNA Techniques: An Introduction”[50] co-authored with Dr. Robert C. Tait.[51]

In addition to his research and development of plasmid vectors, Rodriguez also developed a research program to understand the physiological and molecular processes of rice (Oryza sativa). Rodriguez investigated the molecular biology of rice gene systems related to seed germination. This research resulted in the cloning and sequencing of the rice alpha-amylase multigene family.[52] [53] One of the outcomes of this research was the use of alpha-amylase gene promoters to express human proteins in transgenic rice cells.[54] [55] These findings resulted in eighteen issued US patents.

As executive director of the Center of Excellence for Nutritional Genomics, Rodriguez coordinated the research activities of over 50 research faculty, physicians, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students to investigate diet-gene interactions. Center researchers published over 200 research publications and two volumes on diet-gene interactions and their relationship to human health and disease. These included, Nutrigenomics: Discovering the Path to Personalized Nutrition[56] with Dr. Jim Kaput and Nutritional Genomics: Impact of Dietary Regulation of Gene Function on Human Disease[57] with professor Wayne Bidlack.[58] In addition to his duties as Center director, Rodriguez maintained a research program to investigate the role of dietary factors capable of promoting epigenetic changes on genes related to cancer risk.[59]

Diversity, inclusion, equity

Throughout his career, Rodriguez provided educational and research opportunities for racial/ethnic minorities (REM) and women in STEM. From 1980 to 1994, he provided research experiences for REMs and women from various California State Universities, NIH MBRS[60] /MARC[61] programs, and select HBCUs around the U.S.. From 1990 to 1993, Rodriguez served as Associate Dean in the UC Davis Office of Graduate Studies. He then organized "Professors for the Future,"[62] a mentoring program for diverse, high performing graduate students interested in careers in academia. From 2001 to 2002, Rodriguez served as a member and eventually chair of the Advisory Council, for the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities. From 2005 to 2016 Rodriguez served as a member of the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health[63] (BIRCWH) program at the UC Davis Medical Center. In 2016, he was a member of the UC Davis NIH Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program[64] (PREP) Internal Advisory and Steering Committees. From 2012 to 2017, Rodriguez served as co-principal investigator and member of the NSF ADVANCE[65] / CAMPOS[66] program designed to increase the number of REM women faculty members in STEM departments at UC Davis. In 2013, Rodriguez received funding from Intel Corporation to organize the first Girls Who Code summer immersion course on a university campus. The Girls Who Code program is designed to close the gender gap in the computer sciences.[67] [44]

Selected publications

Notes and References

  1. Bob Schmidt. Raymond. Rodriguez. Raymond Rodriguez Applied Phytologics Inc. / chairman of the board. 2021-08-02. Sacramento Business Journal. April 11, 1999.
  2. Watry, G.. (2017). Can Diet Help Prevent or Postpone Cognitive Decline?
  3. Web site: Raymond L. Rodriguez. academia.edu. June 10, 2021.
  4. Web site: Davern, Cedric I., Ph.D. History of the Health Sciences. 2021-09-03. collections.lib.utah.edu. en.
  5. Rodriguez, R. L., Dalbey, M. S., & Davern, C. I. (1974). Autoradiographic evidence for bidirectional DNA replication in escherichia coli. Journal of Molecular Biology, 74(4), 599–602. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-2836(73)90050-8
  6. Web site: rlrodrig. 2018-02-14. Raymond L. Rodriguez. 2021-09-03. College of Biological Sciences. en.
  7. Web site: The Department of Biochemistry and the Molecular Approach to Biomedicine at the University of California, San Francisco: Volume 1. 2021-09-03. oac.cdlib.org.
  8. Institute of Medicine. 2014. Oversight and Review of Clinical Gene Transfer Protocols: Assessing the Role of the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
  9. Bolivar, F., Betlach, M., Heyneker, H., Shine, J., Rodriguez, R., & Boyer, H. (1977). Origin of Replication of pBR345 Plasmid DNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 74(12), 5265–5269. Retrieved June 10, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/67334
  10. http://www.asiyakm.yolasite.com/pbr322.php pBR322 an example of plasmid vector
  11. Bolivar, F., R.L. Rodriguez, P.J. Greene, M.C. Betlach, H.L. Heyneker, Boyer H.W. Crosa, J.H. S. Falkow. 1977. Construction and characterization of new cloning vehicles. II. A multipurpose cloning system. Gene, 2:95.
  12. Web site: Raymond L. Rodriguez. 2021-09-03. scholar.google.com.
  13. Itakura K, Hirose T, Crea R, Riggs AD, Heyneker HL, Bolivar F, Boyer HW. Expression in Escherichia coli of a chemically synthesized gene for the hormone somatostatin. Science. 1977 Dec 9;198(4321):1056–63. doi: 10.1126/science.412251. PMID 412251.
  14. Villa-Komaroff, L., Efstratiadis, A., Broome, S., Lomedico, P., Tizard, R., Naber, S. P., Chick, W. L., & Gilbert, W. (1978). A bacterial clone synthesizing proinsulin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 75(8), 3727–3731. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.75.8.3727
  15. Neve, R.L., R.W. West and R.L. Rodriguez. 1979. Eukaryotic DNA fragments which act as promoters for a plasmid gene. Nature 277:324–325.
  16. West, R.W., Jr., R.L. Neve and R.L. Rodriguez. 1979. Construction and characterization of E. coli promoter-probe plasmid vectors. I. Cloning promoter-containing DNA fragments. Gene 7:271.
  17. Loop. (n.d.). Raymond L. Rodriguez. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  18. UC Davis. (n.d.).Ray L. Rodriguez. Retrieved July 4, 2021
  19. Song, S., Tian, D., & Zhang, Z. (2018). Rice Genomics: over the Past Two Decades and into the Future. Genomics, Proteomics, & Bioinformatics, 16(6), 397–404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gpb.2019.01.001
  20. Sasaki T. (1998). The rice genome project in Japan. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 95(5), 2027–2028.
  21. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. (n.d.). Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. MAFF. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.maff.go.jp/e/index.html
  22. Whitfield, J. (2002, April 5). Rice genome unveiled : Nature News. Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science. https://www.nature.com/news/2002/020402/full/news020402-6.html
  23. Rodriguez, R. (2008, February 27). NCMHD Center of Excellence in Nutritional Genomics. Grantome. https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/P60-MD000222-05S1
  24. ) SACNAS. (14 March 2014). 2013 SACNAS Keynote: Dr Raymond Rodriguez. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6RwtfSRuYU
  25. Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute. (n.d.). Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute. CHORI. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from http://www.chori.org/
  26. (28, October.) “Plant Genome Research Program (Pgrp).” Beta Site for NSF – National Science Foundation, beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/plant-genome-research-program-pgrp.
  27. USDA. (August 13, 2016). Nutritional Genomics: Linking Agriculture, Nutrition and Genomics to Human Health. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  28. NAIST. (2010, January 14). Honorary Doctoral Degree conferment ceremony for Professor Rodriguez and International Exchange Day 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  29. Raymond L. Rodriguez Celebrates Four Decades of Professional Excellence in Biotechnology and Genomic Health. June 9, 2021. 24-7 Press Release Newswire. December 1, 2017. Fred. Marks. Marquis Who's Who Ventures LLC.
  30. UC Davis. “Somen Nandi.” Chemical Engineering. 6 December 2020, che.engineering.ucdavis.edu/directory/somen-nandi.
  31. Ahmed F., (December 30, 2010). Edible advice. Nature, vol. 468, 2010, s10-12.
  32. Bailey, Pat. (June 19, 2014). “UCD Dairy Training Aims to Boost Rwandans' Health.” Davis Enterprise, 20 June 2014, www.davisenterprise.com/news/local/ucd/ucd-dairy-training-aims-to-boost-rwandans-health/.
  33. Web site: Raymond L. Rodriguez – Director, Profesor, Consultant of Nutrition in Davis, California, United States of America | eMedEvents. eMedEvents.com.
  34. Global HealthShare Initiative. (n.d.). Raymond Rodriguez, Ph.D. Executive Director. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from http://ghs.ucdavis.edu/member-raymond.shtml
  35. “HBB Has Completed Its Phase II Covid-19 RELIEF AIDS.” Humanity Beyond Barriers, 4 Apr. 2021, www.humanitybeyondbarriers.org/.
  36. Global HealthShare Initiative. (n.d.-a). Galleries. Global HealthShare UCD. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://globalhealthshareucd.smugmug.com/
  37. Nandi, S., Thota, S., Nag, A., Divyasukhananda, S., Goswami, P., Aravindakshan, A., Rodriguez, R.L., and Mukherjee, B. 2016. Computing for Rural Empowerment: Enabled by Last-Mile Telecommunications. IEEE Communications Magazine 54(6): 102–109. DOI: 10.1109/MCOM.2016.7498095
  38. Global HealthShare. (2013, August 2). Diarrheal Disease Treatment: Why It’s Important. Global HealthShare Initiative. https://globalhealthshare.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/diarrheal-disease-treatment-why-its-important/
  39. Global HealthShare Initiative. (n.d.-b). Increasing Global Economic Citizenship One Healthy Village at a Time. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from http://ghs.ucdavis.edu/
  40. Corbin, J.M., Hashimoto, B.I., Karuppanan, K., Kyser, Z. R., Wu, L., Roberts, B.A., Noe, A.R., Rodriguez, R.L., McDonald, K.A., and Nandi, S. 2016. Semicontinuous bioreactor production of recombinant butyrylcholinesterase in transgenic rice cell suspension cultures. Frontiers in Plant Science, 7 (412): 1–8, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.00412.
  41. Corbin, J.M., Kailemia, M. J., Cadieux, L. C., Alkanaimsh, S., Karuppanan, K., Rodriguez, R.L., Lebrilla, C.B., Cerasoli, D.M., McDonald, K.A., and Nandi, S. 2018. Purification, Characterization, and N-glycosylation of Recombinant Butyrylcholinesterase from Transgenic Rice Cell Suspension Cultures. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 1–10. DOI: 10.1002/bit.26557
  42. US Department of Energy. (2020, June 24). President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Office of Science. https://science.osti.gov/About/PCAST
  43. Allen, S. (2014, October 1). 5 Things About Me: Molecular Biologist Ray Rodriguez. American Association for the Advancement of Science. https://www.aaas.org/5-things-about-me-molecular-biologist-ray-rodriguez
  44. Fresnostate. [2018 Outstanding Alumnus – Raymond Rodriguez – College of Science and Mathematics.” YouTube, YouTube, 27 Oct. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL993bnFydw]. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  45. Slipher, David. 2018. Kirin Joins Osaka University and UC Davis to Train the Next Generation of Plant Biotechnologists
  46. UC Davis Biotechnology Program.(n.d.)Plant Biotechnology for Global Health and Wellness.
  47. Web site: Osaka University confers an honorary degree to Dr. Raymond L. Rodriguez of the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). 2021-08-02. 大阪大学.
  48. R.L. Rodriguez and M.J. Chamberlin. Promoters: Structure and Function. R.L. Rodriguez and M.J. Chamberlin eds. Praeger Scientific, New York, 1982.
  49. Rodriguez, R.L. and D.T. Denhardt. 1987. Vectors: A survey of molecular cloning vectors and their uses. Butterworth Publishing Co. Stoneham, Mass.
  50. Podhajska, A. J. (1984). Recombinant DNA Techniques: An Introduction. Gene, 26(2–3), 323–324. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0016672300025969
  51. Rodriguez, R.L. and R.C. Tait. 1983. Recombinant DNA techniques: An introduction. Addison Wesley Publishing Co., Reading Mass.
  52. Huang, N., Sutliff, T.D., Litts, J.C. and Rodriguez, R.L. 1990. Classification and characterization of the rice alpha-amylase multigene family. Plant Mol. Biol. 14:655–668.
  53. Rodriguez, R., Huang, N. Sutliff, T., Ranjhan, S., Karrer, E., and Litts, J. C. 1991. Organization, structure and expression of the rice alpha-amylase multigene family. In, Rice Genetics II. Manila, pp. 417–429.
  54. Huang. J.. Sutliff. T. D.. Wu. L.. Nandi. S.. Benge. K.. Terashima. M.. Ralston. A. H.. Drohan. W.. Huang. N.. Rodriguez. R. L.. 2001-01-01. Expression and purification of functional human alpha-1-Antitrypsin from cultured plant cells. Biotechnology Progress. 17. 1. 126–133. 10.1021/bp0001516. 8756-7938. 11170490. 84924320.
  55. Huang J., Sutliff, T.D., Wu, L., Nandi, Somen, Benge, Kelli, Terashima, M., Ralston, A., Drohan, W. Huang, N. and Rodriguez, R.L. 2001. Expression and purification of functional recombinant human alpha-1-antitrypsin from cultured plant cells. Biotechnol. Prog. 17:126–133.
  56. Kaput, J., & Rodriguez, R. L. (2006). Nutritional Genomics: Discovering the Path to Personalized Nutrition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/0471781797
  57. Bidlack, W. R., & Rodriguez, R. L. (2011). Nutritional Genomics: The Impact of Dietary Regulation of Gene Function on Human Disease (1st ed.). CRC Press.
  58. Web site: In Memoriam: Wayne Bidlack. 2021-09-03. www.cpp.edu. en.
  59. Galvez, A.F., Huang, L., Magbanua, M.M.J. Dawson, K. R. L. Rodriguez. 2011. Differential Expression of Thrombospondin (THBS1) in Turmorigenic and Nontumorigenic Prostate Epithelial Cells in Response to a Chromatin-Binding Soy Peptide. Nutrition and Cancer 63(4):623–636.
  60. Cal State LA. (2017, January 10). MBRS-RISE Undergraduate Scholars Program. https://www.calstatela.edu/centers/moreprograms/rise/rise.htm
  61. National Institute of General Medical Sciences. (n.d.). Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) Awards (T34). Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.nigms.nih.gov/training/marc/pages/ustarawards.aspx
  62. University of California, Davis. (2020, April 1). Professors for the Future – About. GradPathways Institute for Professional Development. https://gradpathways.ucdavis.edu/pftf-about
  63. National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH). National Institutes of Health: Office of Research on Women’s Health. Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://orwh.od.nih.gov/career-development-education/building-interdisciplinary-research-careers-womens-health-bircwh#:%7E:text=The%20Building%20Interdisciplinary%20Research%20Careers,health%20and%20sex%2Ddifferences%20research.
  64. National Institute of General Medical Sciences. (n.d.-b). Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) (R25). Retrieved September 26, 2020, from https://www.nigms.nih.gov/training/PREP
  65. Web site: ADVANCE: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions (ADVANCE). 2021-09-03. Beta site for NSF – National Science Foundation. 6 March 2020 . en.
  66. Web site: CAMPOS Initiative. 2021-09-03. UC Davis ADVANCE. 26 February 2013 . en.
  67. Web site: HealthShare. Global. 2013-07-15. Girls Who Code Summer Update. 2021-09-03. Global HealthShare Initiative. en.

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