Perez-Reyes, Edward

Primary Appointment

Professor, Pharmacology

Education

BA, Chemistry, University of North Carolina
PhD, Pharmacology, University of Colorado, Denver
Research Fellowship, Electrophysiology, Stanford University

Contact Information

PO Box 800735
1340 Jefferson Park Ave., Pinn Hall, Room 5056A
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Telephone: 434-982-4440
Fax: 434-982-3878
Email: eperez@virginia.edu
Website: https://med.virginia.edu/perez-reyes-lab/

Research Disciplines

Biophysics, Biotechnology, Metabolism, Molecular Biology, Molecular Pharmacology, Neuroimmunology, Neuroscience, Translational Science

Research Interests

Exploring epilepsy circuits then preventing seizures using gene therapies. Developing drug-inducible genetic switches for insulin replacement gene therapies.

Research Description

Current work in the lab is focused on developing gene therapies for pharmacoresistant epilepsies and insulin replacement. In these projects we are leveraging our experience in molecular cloning to develop novel adeno-associated viral (AAV) targeting vectors capable of delivering genes of interest. In a project funded by a CURE Challenge Award, we validated the ability of a modified K+ leak channel to reduce status epilepticus (Epilepsia, PMID: 24299204). Current funding focuses on developing novel drug-inducible genetic switches to control therapeutic gene delivery. Our work on insulin replacement is supported by donations from the Manning Foundation to the School of Medicine’s grant program ‘Launchpad for Diabetes.” This project is a collaboration with Thurl Harris, also in the Pharmacology department. Our work on epilepsy includes both developing novel models of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE; Epilepsia, PMID: 32954490), exploring the causes of epilepsy, and developing therapies to prevent TLE seizures (DOI 10.3390/ijms241411347). Our epilepsy work is a collaboration with Drs. Ukpong Eyo (Neuroscience), Mark Beenhakker (Pharmacology), Manoj Patel (Anesthesiology), Harald Sontheimer (Neuroscience) and Jaideep Kapur (Neurology). We have also leveraged our molecular cloning experience to advance studies in hearing with Dr. Jung-Bum Shin (Neuroscience) and in the control of breathing with Drs. Yingtang Shi and Doug Bayliss (Pharmacology). Our latest tools for neuroscience are optimized Cre-dependent AAVs with minimal off-target expression. For a complete list of scientific contributions see my profile on Google Scholar: perez-reyes e .