Dr. Apodaca’s lab studies the biology and function of the urothelial cells and fibroblasts that comprise the mucosal lining of the lower urinary tract. Dr. Apodaca’s lab has four major projects: (i) Studies of stretch-regulated membrane traffic in umbrella cells; (ii) Effects of bladder filling and voiding on the umbrella cell apical junctional complex and associated cytoskeleton; (iii) Investigations of urothelial and fibroblast mechanotransduction; (iv) Examination of pathways that contribute to urothelial:fibroblast:sensory nerve communication.
- BA, Biology, Rollins College, 1983
- PhD, Experimental Pathology, University of California San Francisco, 1989
- Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California San Francisco, 1995
Education & Training
Dalghi MG, Ruiz WG, Clayton DR, Montalbetti N, Daugherty SL, Beckel JM, Carattino MD, Apodaca G. Functional roles for PIEZO1 and PIEZO2 in urothelial mechanotransduction and lower urinary tract interoception. JCI Insight. 2021 Oct 8;6(19):e152984. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.152984. PMID: 34464353; PMCID: PMC8525643.
Clayton DR, Ruiz WG, Dalghi MG, Montalbetti N, Carattino MD, Apodaca G. Studies of ultrastructure, gene expression, and marker analysis reveal that mouse bladder PDGFRA+ interstitial cells are fibroblasts. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2022 Sep 1;323(3):F299-F321. doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00135.2022. Epub 2022 Jul 14. PMID: 35834272; PMCID:PMC9394772
Dalghi MG, DuRie E, Ruiz WG, Clayton DR, Montalbetti N, Mutchler SB, Satlin LM, Kleyman TR, Carattino MD, Shi YS, Apodaca G. Expression and localization of the mechanosensitive/osmosensitive ion channel TMEM63B in the mouse urinary tract. Physiol Rep. 2024 May;12(9):e16043. doi: 10.14814/phy2.16043. PMID: 38724885; PMCID: PMC11082094.
Ruiz WG, Clayton DR, Parakala-Jain T, Dalghi MG, Franks J, Apodaca G. The rat bladder umbrella cell keratin network: Organization, dependence on the plectin cytolinker, and responses to bladder filling. Mol Biol Cell. 2024 Nov 1;35(11):ar139. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E24-06-0262. Epub 2024 Oct 2. PMID: 39356795; PMCID: PMC11617100.
- Rollins College, Central Florida Scholarship, 1979-1983
- University of California, Graduate Opportunity Fellowship, 1983-1984
- National Science Foundation, Minority Fellowship, 1984-1987
- Ford Foundation, Dissertation Year Fellowship, 1987-988
- Cancer Research Institute, Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1989-1992
- American Heart Association, Minority Development Award, 1993-1998
- Editorial Board, American Journal of Physiology, Renal Physiology, 2001-Present
- Editorial Board, American Journal of Physiology, Cellular Physiology, 2002-Present
- Established Investigator Award, American Heart Association, 2003-2008
- UPSOM Distinguished Mentor Award Finalist, 2004
- Editorial Board, Traffic, 2004-2020
- MERIT Award, National Institutes of Health, 2004-2015
- Member ACS Cell Structure and Metastasis Study Section, 2005-2010
- Appointment, UPSOM Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators, 2006-Present
- Associate Editor, American Journal of Physiology, Renal Physiology, 2007-2013
- William E. Brown MSTP Mentor of the Year Award, 2007
- Member, NIH Membrane Biology and Protein Processing Study section, 2012-2017
- Editor, Specialty Section in Membrane Traffic, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 2013-2017
