SHC Conference Room #4137
On Thursday, March 27th, we will be welcoming José Antonio Enríquez Domínguez, PhD, as a Sarver Heart Center Research Seminar lecturer.
Date: Thursday, March 27th, 2025
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM
Location: Sarver Heart Center, Room 4137
Title: Providing Energy to the Heart
Host: Hesham Sadek, MD, PhD
Bio:
Dr. José Antonio Enríquez graduated in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Autonomous University of Madrid in 1986 and received his PhD from the University of Zaragoza (UniZar) in 1992. During his PhD he studied various aspects of mitochondrial DNA biogenesis (mtDNA). Between 1993 and 1997 he moved to the laboratory of Dr. Giuseppe Attardi at the California Institute of Technology, (Pasadena, California, USA) where he investigated the pathogenic action of mutated mitochondrial tRNAs. His work during this period allowed to define the molecular mechanism causing the diseases due to these mutations and helped to establish a general methodology for the study of mitochondrial tRNAs. This methodology has been applied by other groups in mitochondrial biogenesis studies, as well as in the analysis of diseases related to mtDNA. In 1997 José Antonio returned to UniZar stablishing his own research group, he obtained the position of Associated Professor in 1999 and become Full Professor in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology in 2007. Between September 2007 and May 2008, he made a sabbatical stay at the MRC- Mitochondrial Biology Unit (Cambridge, UK). He joined the Carlos III National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) as Full Professor in 2009. From September 2014 to August 2015, he carried out a second sabbatical stay at Boston University (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) in the laboratory of Dr. Orian Shiriai.
Dr. Enríquez has generated 184 publications, obtaining more than 17,500 cites and with an H-index of 71 and has made outstanding contributions to the understanding of mitochondrial biogenesis and bioenergetics, its role in cell apoptosis, structure and regulation of the respiratory chain, the pathological consequences of the alteration of mitochondrial function and the relevance of the mtDNA population genetic variability in metabolism, longevity, and susceptibility to diseases (see below). Dr. Enríquez was elected EMBO Member in 2021 and has been awarded the prices XVI Premio de la FUNDACION FRANCISCO COBOS to the Scientific Career (2022) and MARGARITA SALAS (Comunidad de Madrid) to the Scientific Career (2022).
Dr. Enríquez's groundbreaking work in mitochondrial biology has revolutionized our understanding of cellular energetics and metabolism, with far-reaching implications for human health and disease.