Roles
Associate Professor of Reserach
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Biography
Dr. Reyes joined the Department of Surgery at Miami University in October of 2019, with research responsibilities for the Xenotransplantation program. A native of Colombia, Luz earned her BS in Biology and Chemistry at the Teaching University of Colombia, her MS in Genetics and Plant Breeding at National University of Colombia, and her PhD in Molecular Genetics at North Carolina State University. Prior to coming to US, Dr. Reyes was also Associate Professor and Department Head at the Department of Physiology and Genetics at the National University of Colombia, with teaching responsibilities for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in Molecular Genetics and Genetic Resources. In the last ten years she has been involved in Xenotransplantation. Prior to coming to UM, she was part of the Xenotransplantation programs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Indiana University, working as a Research Assistant Professor. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
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Honors & Awards
No result found
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Teaching Interests
As a researcher spending most of my time in the lab, I see myself as a mentor. Mentoring is a central aspect of the scientific community. It is a learning relationship focused on long-term career development. Mentoring could be applied at different levels of scientific development—not only undergraduate students, lab technicians, and research assistants, but also graduate students and career research scientists can take advantage of this experience.
Regardless of where the mentee is in their career, my mentorship is devoted to applying the scientific method and encouraging students to implement this method in the lab. Mentorship is a bi-directional process. While sharing their knowledge, experience, networks, and resources to help advisees advance their professional development, mentors also benefit greatly. Mentoring creates a dynamic process that continuously evolves with new ideas and opportunities for the new generation of scientists. I use my education philosophy to guide my mentorship style and the way I relate to and encourage my mentees. -
Research Interests
My main research interest is to develop new knowledge in Xenotransplantation. Since I started in this field 14 years ago, I have focused on the genetic characterization of the swine class I and class II MHC complex. Additionally, I have worked in the creation and characterization of class I MHC knockout pigs using Cas9 nuclease and guide RNAs. Lately, I’m focused on these two goals: (i) create soluble class I and class II SLA proteins that will be used in the development of a high-throughput screening assay - these reagents will be used to test human sera for the presence of anti-SLA antibodies - and (ii) use the novel reagents to screen human tissues for the presence of B-cells that recognize SLA proteins, and to determine if B-cell depletion eliminates the presence of anti-SLA human Ig and prevents their reappearance. -
Publications
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