Andrea Reyes-Ortiz

Research Interest:

My research interest involves combining Huntington’s disease (HD) patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) and HD mouse modeling with transcriptomic analyses to elucidate molecular mechanisms of dysfunctional states in HD astrocytes. I hope to understand how this important cell type contributes to Huntington’s disease pathogenesis to better inform HD therapeutics.

Education: 

I received my Biomolecular Engineering B.S. and Minor in Bioinformatics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Under Dr. David Haussler, I completed an Undergraduate Bioengineering Senior Thesis involving the reprogramming of orangutan fibroblasts from the San Diego Frozen Zoo collection into iPSC lines to model early neural development in Great Ape species.

Publications:

• Lim RG, Quan C, Reyes-Ortiz AM, Lutz SE, Kedaigle AJ, Gipson TA, Wu J, Vatine GD, Stocksdale J, Casale MS, Svendsen CN, Fraenkel E, Housman DE, Agalliu D, Thompson LM. “Huntington’s Disease iPSC-Derived Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells Reveal WNT-Mediated Angiogenic and Blood-Brain Barrier Deficits.” May 2017. Cell Reports 19, 1365-1377.

• Field AR, Jacobs FMJ, Fiddes IT, Phillips APR, Reyes-Ortiz AM, LaMontagne E, Whitehead L, Meng V, Rosenkrantz JL, Olsen M, Hauessler M, Katzman S, Salama SR, Haussler D. “Structurally Conserved Primate LncRNAs Are Transiently Expressed during Human Cortical Differentiation and Influence Cell-Type-Specific Genes.” Feb 2019. Stem Cell Reports 12, 245-257.

Hobbies:

Indoor and beach volleyball, cooking, baking, and entertaining (or being entertained by) my Siamese cat, Cleopatra.

Publications:

1. Lim RG, Quan C, Reyes-Ortiz AM, … Svendsen CN, Fraenkel E, Housman DE, Agalliu D, Thompson LM. “Huntington’s Disease iPSC-Derived Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells Reveal WNT-Mediated Angiogenic and Blood-Brain Barrier Deficits.” May 2017. Cell Reports 19, 1365-1377.
2. Field A, Jacobs F, Fiddes I, Phillips A, Reyes-Ortiz AM, … Salama S, Haussler D. “Structurally Conserved Primate LncRNAs Are Transiently Expressed during Human Cortical Differentiation and Influence Cell-Type-Specific Genes.” Feb 2019. Stem Cell Reports 12, 245-257.