Fields of Research
- Intracellular Signaling
- Neurobiology of Autonomic Neurons
- Molecular Basis of Aging
- Ion Channel Regulation
Research Summary
Autonomic neuroscience, cardiovascular neural control, and aging. We use a multi-level approach to understand cellular physiology, membrane biology, and ion channel biophysics. Always excited for novel discoveries.
Research Statement
Dysregulation of homeostasis during aging
During aging, homeostasis is lost. Blood pressure is hardly controlled, heart rate decreases and cannot keep up with extenuating activity, breathing becomes problematic, sleep time decreases, and even simple tasks like salivation and urination become a challenge. The autonomic nervous system controls all these daily tasks.
Hence, aging dysregulates the function of the autonomic nervous system. Is aging a perturbation factor for which the autonomic nervous system can respond? When does aging become a stressor for which the autonomic nervous system cannot compensate? What are the cellular and molecular properties of the autonomic neurons altered by aging? We study how aging alters the function of the autonomic nervous system and aim to learn more of the neurobiology and physiology of this relevant system. Our research team uses electrophysiology, high-resolution microscopy, and molecular biology to address these questions.
Awards and Honors
MIRA Award for young investigators – NIGMS / NIH, 2021
Sagol Network GerOmic Award – AFAR, 2021
Finalist Society of General Physiologists Excelsior Award, 2021
Fellow of the Mentoring Institute for Neuroscience Diversity Scholars (MINDS).
CUNY School of Medicine – NINDS/NIH, 2020
Junior Faculty Networking Cohort Fellow. Journal of General Physiology, 2020
Distinction for PhD thesis Summa Cum Laude, UNAM, Mexico, 2012
Scholarship for Graduate Education, CONACyT, Mexico, 2006
International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) Fellowship, 2006
Oscar
Assistant Professor
Affiliations
Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology
Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain and Emotion Healthy
Aging and Longevity Research Institute
Graduate Program in Pharmacology
Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Graduate Program in Molecular, Cell Bio (MCB)
Funded by NIGMS
Oscar
Assistant Professor
Affiliations
Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology
Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain and Emotion Healthy
Aging and Longevity Research Institute
Graduate Program in Pharmacology
Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Graduate Program in Molecular, Cell Bio (MCB)
Funded by NIGMS
Faculty
- Building:
- Health Sciences
- Room:
- H-310
- Box:
- 357290
- Phone:
- 206-543-0958
- Web Link:
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0964-385X
Lab
- Box:
- 357290
- Phone:
- 206-543-0958
Oscar
Assistant Professor
Affiliations
Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology
Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain and Emotion Healthy
Aging and Longevity Research Institute
Graduate Program in Pharmacology
Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Graduate Program in Molecular, Cell Bio (MCB)
Funded by NIGMS
Graduate PBIO 519
Graduate Research Seminar PHCOL
Oscar
Assistant Professor
Affiliations
Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology
Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain and Emotion Healthy
Aging and Longevity Research Institute
Graduate Program in Pharmacology
Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Graduate Program in Molecular, Cell Bio (MCB)
Funded by NIGMS
Lizbeth de la Cruz (Postdoc)
Roya Pournejati (Postdoc)
Sabrina Choi (Research Scientist)
Siddharth Anand (Undergraduate Student)
Oscar
Assistant Professor
Affiliations
Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology
Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain and Emotion Healthy
Aging and Longevity Research Institute
Graduate Program in Pharmacology
Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Graduate Program in Molecular, Cell Bio (MCB)
Funded by NIGMS
Select Publications
de la Cruz L, Kushmerick C, Sullivan JM, Kruse M, Vivas O. Hippocampal neurons maintain a large PtdIns(4)P pool that results in faster PtdIns(4,5)P2 synthesis. J Gen Physiol. 2022 Mar 7;154(3). doi: 10.1085/jgp.202113001. Epub 2022 Feb 18. PubMed PMID: 35179558; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8906353.
de la Cruz L, Riquelme R, Vivas O, Barria A, Jensen JB. Dishevelled coordinates phosphoinositide kinases PI4KIIIα and PIP5KIγ for efficient PtdInsP2 synthesis. J Cell Sci. 2022 Mar 1;135(5). doi: 10.1242/jcs.259145. Epub 2022 Feb 3. PubMed PMID: 34982154; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8919331.
Choi S, Baudot M, Vivas O, Moreno CM. Slowing down as we age: aging of the cardiac pacemaker’s neural control. Geroscience. 2022 Feb;44(1):1-17. doi: 10.1007/s11357-021-00420-3. Epub 2021 Jul 22. Review. PubMed PMID: 34292477; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8811107.
Kutchukian C, Vivas O, Casas M, Jones JG, Tiscione SA, Simó S, Ory DS, Dixon RE, Dickson EJ. NPC1 regulates the distribution of phosphatidylinositol 4-kinases at Golgi and lysosomal membranes. EMBO J. 2021 Jul 1;40(13):e105990. doi: 10.15252/embj.2020105990. Epub 2021 May 21. PubMed PMID: 34019311; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8246069.
Tiscione SA, Vivas O, Ginsburg KS, Bers DM, Ory DS, Santana LF, Dixon RE, Dickson EJ. Disease-associated mutations in Niemann-Pick type C1 alter ER calcium signaling and neuronal plasticity. J Cell Biol. 2019 Dec 2;218(12):4141-4156. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201903018. Epub 2019 Oct 10. PubMed PMID: 31601621; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6891088.
Vivas O, Tiscione SA, Dixon RE, Ory DS, Dickson EJ. Niemann-Pick Type C Disease Reveals a Link between Lysosomal Cholesterol and PtdIns(4,5)P2 That Regulates Neuronal Excitability. Cell Rep. 2019 May 28;27(9):2636-2648.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.04.099. PubMed PMID: 31141688; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6553496.
Porter JD, Vivas O, Weaver CD, Alsafran A, DiMilo E, Arnold LA, Dickson EJ, Dockendorff C. An anthrone-based Kv7.2/7.3 channel blocker with improved properties for the investigation of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2019 Dec 1;29(23):126681. doi: 10.1016/ j.bmcl.2019.126681. Epub 2019 Sep 14. PubMed PMID: 31668424; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6858848.
Vivas O, Moreno CM, Santana LF, Hille B. Proximal clustering between BK and CaV1.3 channels promotes functional coupling and BK channel activation at low voltage. Elife. 2017 Jun 30;6. doi: 10.7554/eLife.28029. PubMed PMID: 28665272; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5503510.
Kruse M, Vivas O, Traynor-Kaplan A, Hille B. Dynamics of Phosphoinositide-Dependent Signaling in Sympathetic Neurons. J Neurosci. 2016 Jan 27;36(4):1386-400. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3535-15.2016. PubMed PMID: 26818524; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4728732.
Vivas O, Kruse M, Hille B. Nerve growth factor sensitizes adult sympathetic neurons to the proinflammatory peptide bradykinin. J Neurosci. 2014 Sep 3;34(36):11959-71. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1536-14.2014. PubMed PMID: 25186743; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4152604.
Vivas O, Castro H, Arenas I, Elías-Viñas D, García DE. PIP₂ hydrolysis is responsible for voltage independent inhibition of CaV2.2 channels in sympathetic neurons. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2013 Mar 8;432(2):275-80. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2013.01.117. Epub 2013 Feb 8. PubMed PMID: 23396054.
Publications
https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.offcampus.lib.washing ton.edu/myncbi/oscar.vivas.1/bibliography/public/
Oscar
Assistant Professor
Affiliations
Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology
Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain and Emotion Healthy
Aging and Longevity Research Institute
Graduate Program in Pharmacology
Graduate Program in Neuroscience
Graduate Program in Molecular, Cell Bio (MCB)
Funded by NIGMS