Carlos E. Alvarez, Ph.D.

Carlos E. Alvarez, PhD is a Principal Investigator in the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. His lab's biomedical research program is focused on two areas: dog and human genetics, and signal transduction. His studies have been funded by NIH, DoD and the Canine Health Foundation.

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Languages Spoken:

• English
• Spanish

Research Center:

• Center for Molecular and Human Genetics

Areas of Interest:

• We study cell signaling and disease genetics with the goal of identifying new therapeutic approaches. (1) G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are prominent drug targets because they are the most numerous transmembrane receptors. Hundreds of human GPCRs signal via direct interactions with small numbers of trimeric G proteins, G protein kinases, and arrestins. We and others recently identified a new subfamily of “alpha” arrestins. One focus of the lab is to understand the roles of alpha arrestins in GPCR signaling. Alpha arrestins have evolutionarily-conserved PPXY (“PY”) motifs in their C-terminal tails. We are studying how alpha arrestin PY motifs are used to recruit WW domain proteins, including Nedd4 family E3 ubiquitin ligases and scaffold proteins, to activated plasma membrane proteins. (2) We also seek to find novel biochemical pathways that are altered in diseases of complex genetics. To that end, we are using integrative genomics to identify disease-associated variation in humans and dogs. Dogs have experienced strong selection and population bottlenecks during and after breed creation. This resulted in vastly reduced genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity within breeds, making them an ideal vertebrate model in which to understand diseases of complex genetics. A major aim of our group is to define genetic variation that is specific to dog breeds or breed groups: DNA structural and copy number variation (SV, CNV), single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), haplotypes, and mutations. Depending on the specific traits of interest, we integrate genetics with different types of clinical and molecular phenotypes (including, gene and micro RNA expression). Our clinical and veterinary collaborations are in the areas of oncology, metabolism, neurology, and development.

Graduate School

• Harvard University
  Date Completed: 06/30/1997

Fellowship

• The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA
  Date Completed: 10/01/2002

Fellowship

• University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
  Date Completed: 03/01/2003

2009–present

• The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Molecular Biology and Cancer Genetics Program

2008–present

• Graduate Faculty (P Status), Integrated Biomedical Science Graduate Program, The Ohio State University College of Medicine

2006–present

• Assistant Professor, Tenure Track, Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine

2006–present

• Principal Investigator, Center for Molecular and Human Genetics, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital

2003–2006

• Lab Head Molecular Biology, Neurosciences and Ophthalmology, Novartis Institutes of BioMedical Research (Novartis Pharma AG), Basel, Switzerland
  

2002–2003

• Post-doctoral Fellow, Psychiatry Department, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA

1997–2002

• Post-doctoral Fellow, Molecular Biology Department, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA

• Rowell, J. L., McCarthy, D. O., Alvarez, C. E. 2011. Dog models of naturally occurring cancer.  Trends in Molecular Medicine. no. 2011 Mar 23. [Epub ahead of print]. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W7J-52FXBT8-1&_user=8593397&_coverDate=03%2F24%2F2011&_ rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view= c&_acct=C000107354&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=8593397&md5=f35. (IF: 11.049)
• Enfield, K. S. S., Stewart, G. L., Pikor, L., Alvarez, C. E., Lam, S., Lam, W. L., Chari R. 2011. MircroRNA gene dosage alterations and drug response in lung cancer.  Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. no. doi:10.1155/2011/474632. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jbb/2011/474632/. (IF: 1.75)
• Alvarez, C. E., Akey, J. M. 2011. Copy Number Variation in the Domestic Dog.  Mammalian Genome. no. In press. (IF: 2.771) (Formally Accepted)
• Cottrell, C. E., Bir, N., Varga, E., Alvarez, C. E., Bouyain, S., Zernzach, R., Lamb Thrush, D., Trimarchi, M., Cunningham, D., Gastier-Foster, J. M., McBride, K., Herman, G. E. 2011. Contactin 4 as an Autism Susceptibility Locus.  Autism Research. no. doi: 10.1002/aur.184. [Epub ahead of print]. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.184/pdf. (IF: 1.375)
• Thu K. L., Pikor L. A., Kennett J. Y., Alvarez C. E., Lam W. L. 2010. Methylation analysis by DNA immunoprecipitation.  J Cell Physiol.. Vol. 222, no. 3. : 522-531. (IF: 4.096)
• Gibb, E. A., Enfield, K. S. S., Tsui, I. F. L., Chari, R., Lam, S., Alvarez, C. E., Lam, W. L. 2010. Deciphering Squamous Cell Carcinomas Using Multi-Dimensional Genomic Approaches.  J. Skin Cancer. no. doi:10.1155/2011/541405 [Epub 2010 Dec 27]. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jsc/2011/541405/.
• Chari R., Thu K. L., Wilson I. M., Lockwood W. W., Lonergan K. M., Coe B. P., Malloff C. A.,Gazdar A. F., Lam S., Garnis C., MacAulay C. E., Alvarez C. E., Lam W. L. 2010. Integrating themultiple dimensions of genomic and epigenomic landscapes of cancer.  Cancer Metastasis Reviews. Vol. 29, no. 1. : 73-93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10555-010-9199-2. (IF: 6.766)
• Chen, W.-K., Swartz, J. D., Rush, L. J., Alvarez, C. E. 2009. Mapping DNA structural variation in dogs.  Genome Res.. Vol. Published in Advance (electronically) November 17, 2008, doi: 10.1101/gr.083741.108. http://genome.cshlp.org/content/early/2008/11/17/gr.083741.108. (IF: 11.224)
• Kaspar R. W., Allen H. D., Ray W. C., Alvarez C. E., Kissel J. T., Pestronk A., Weiss R. B.,Flanigan K. M., Mendell J. R., Montanaro F. 2009. Analysis of dystrophin deletion mutationspredicts age of cardiomyopathy onset in becker muscular dystrophy.  Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics. Vol. 2, no. 6. : 544-551. http://circgenetics.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/2/6/544.
• Alvarez, C. E. 2008. On the Origins of Arrestin and Rhodopsin.  BMC Evol. Biol.. Vol. 8. : 222. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/8/222. (IF: 4.09)
• Wilson, I. M., Davies, J. J., Weber, M., Brown, C. J., Alvarez, C. E., MacAulay, C., Schübeler, D., Lam, W. L. 2006. Epigenomics: Mapping the Methylome.  Cell Cycle. Vol. 5, no. 2. : 155-158. http://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/cc/article/2367/. (IF: 3.314)
• Alvarez, C. E., Sutcliffe, J. G., Thomas, E. A. 2002. Novel Isoform of Insulin Receptor Substrate p53/p58 is Generated by Alternative Splicing in the CRIB/SH3-binding Region.  J. Biol. Chem.. Vol. 277, no. 27. : 24728-24734. http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/277/27/24728. (IF: 5.581)
• Alvarez, C. E., Sutcliffe, J. G. 2002. Hypocretin is an Early Member of the Incretin Gene Family.  Neurosci. Lett.. Vol. 324, no. 3. : 169-172. (IF: 2.085)
• Thomas, E. A., Foye, P. E., Alvarez C. E., Usui, H., Sutcliffe, J. G. 2001. Insulin Receptor Substrate Protein p53 Localization in Rats Suggests Mechanism for Specific Polyglutamine Neurodegeneration.  Neurosci. Lett.. Vol. 309, no. 3. : 145-148. (IF: 2.085)
• Wang, W., Zhang, J., Alvarez, C., Llopart, A., Long, M. 2000. The Origin of Jingwei and Complex Modular Structure of its Parental Gene, Yellow Emperor.  Mol. Biol. Evol.. Vol. 17, no. 9. : 1294-1301. http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/17/9/1294. (IF: 6.438)
• Thomas, E. A., Alvarez, C. E., Sutcliffe, J. G. 2000. Evolutionarily Distinct Classes of S27 Ribosomal Proteins with Differential mRNA Expression in Rat Hypothalamus.  J. Neurochem.. Vol. 74, no. 6. : 2259-2267. (IF: 4.451)
• Alvarez, C. E., Robison, K., Gilbert W. 1996. Novel DGqalpha Isoform is a Candidate Transducer of Rhodopsin Signaling in a Drosophila Testes-Autonomous Pacemaker.  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA. Vol. 93, no. 22. : 12278-12282. http://www.pnas.org/content/93/22/12278. (IF: 9.598)
• Silverman, D. H., Sayegh, M. H., Alvarez, C. E., Johnson, T. S., Milford, E. L., Karnovsky, M. L. 1990. HLA Class II-Restricted Binding of Muramyl Peptides to B Lymphocytes of Normal and Narcoleptic Subjects.  Human Immunology. Vol. 27, no. 3. : 145-154. (IF: 2.901)