About

Dr. Rebecca Calisi Rodríguez is a scientist who emphasizes the human side of scientific work, challenging the stereotype of scientists as unapproachable or dull. She highlights that scientists have rich personal lives, including singing, dancing, parenting, and humor, demonstrating that one does not have to choose between a life and a lab. Through her platform, she introduces the real people behind science and encourages others to see themselves as capable of becoming scientists. Her work includes engaging with prominent figures such as Marsha McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences, and collaborating with TEDMED speaker Jonathan Eisen to demystify the process behind TEDMED talks. Additionally, she addresses the value of studying seemingly niche topics like bird brains, explaining their relevance and contribution to broader scientific understanding.

Research topics

• Biology
• Biochemistry
• Sociology
• Botany
• Pharmacology
• Demography
• Chemistry
• Cell biology
• Molecular biology
• Anthropology
• Immunology

Selected publications

• Fibroblast Growth Factor Bioactivity Measurements Using Live-Cell Biosensor Imaging

  GEN Biotechnology · 2025-04-01

  article

  Growth factor proteins are essential reagents for cell culture and tissue engineering but require quality control for bioactivity. Currently, growth factor bioactivity measurements made by immunoblot or ELISA are limited in evaluating the kinetics and heterogeneity of cellular responses, and there is a need for convenient methods with higher temporal and spatial resolution. In this study, we evaluate the advantages of using genetically encoded biosensors to quantify growth factor bioactivity in living cells. Using fibroblasts expressing a FRET-based biosensor of ERK activity, we compare methods for quantifying the cellular response across several doses and sources of recombinant basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). In contrast to immunological methods, the biosensor-based approach provides single-cell ERK activity kinetics and robust dose-response curves with minimal experimental processing. We additionally demonstrate that this method can assess bFGF activity in induced pluripotent stem cells and resolve spatial activity patterns. We conclude that biosensors represent a rapid, high-quality bioactivity assay extendable to other growth factors and signaling pathways.

  PublisherDOI

• Early career Latinas in STEM: Challenges and solutions

  Cell · 2023 · 6 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Biology
  • Demography
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Production and characterization of basic fibroblast growth factor protein in rice suspension cultures

  Biochemical Engineering Journal · 2023 · 5 citations

  • Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Cell biology
  PublisherDOI

• Applications of Plant-Made Fibroblast Growth Factor for Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

  Stem Cells and Development · 2023-12-08 · 4 citations

  article

  Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) hold great potential in regenerative medicine. These cells can be expanded indefinitely in theory and are able to differentiate into different types of cells for cell therapies, drug screening, and basic biology studies. The reliable and effective propagation of hESCs and hiPSCs is important for their downstream applications. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is critical to hESCs and hiPSCs for maintaining their pluripotency. Plant-produced growth factors are safe to use without potential contamination of infectious viruses and are less expensive to produce. In this study, we used rice cell-made basic fibroblast growth factor (RbFGF) to propagate hESCs and hiPSCs for at least eight passages. Both hESCs and hiPSCs cultured with RbFGF not only maintained the morphology but also the specific expression (OCT4, SSEA4, SOX2, and TRA-1-60) of PSCs, similar to those cultured with the commercial Escherichia coli-produced bFGF. Furthermore, both gene chip-based PluriTest and TaqMan hPSC Scorecard pluripotency analysis demonstrated the pluripotent expression profile of the hESCs cultured with RbFGF. In vitro trilineage assays further showed that these hESCs and hiPSCs cultured on RbFGF were capable of giving rise to cell derivatives of ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm, further demonstrating their pluripotency. Finally, chromosome stability was also maintained in hESCs cultured with RbFGF as demonstrated by normal karyotypes. This study suggests broad applications for plant-made growth factors in stem cell culture and regenerative medicine.

  PublisherDOI

• N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids block the trimethylamine-N-oxide- ACE2- TMPRSS2 cascade to inhibit the infection of human endothelial progenitor cells by SARS-CoV-2

  The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry · 2022 · 12 citations

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Pharmacology
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• COVID-19: repositioning nutrition research for the next pandemic

  Nutrition Research · 2020-07-22 · 33 citations

  letterOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  At the time of this writing, the COVID-19 pandemic will have infected more than 12 million people and taken the lives of nearly 600,000 individuals world-wide [ 1 ]. While containment and treatment strategies have focused primarily on social distancing, therapeutics, and vaccines, the pandemic has also revealed serious underlying vulnerabilities in individuals infected by the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. The vulnerable aspects include advanced age, obesity [and its comorbidities, diabetes and chronic heart diseases], systemic coagulopathy or thrombosis [ 2 ], acute respiratory failure (e.g., hypoxia), inflammation, immunodeficiency, and neuropathologies [ 3 , 4 ]. The evidence for vulnerable people is supported by early reports on the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States that revealed ethnic, racial, and socio-economic disparities that resulted in some sectors of the population being disproportionally affected by COVID-19. Some of the sectors showing disproportionate rates of infection and death included men, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Blacks, Latinos, older adults, recent immigrants, and individuals with low income [ 5 , 6 ]. What is largely missed by the public, researchers, and healthcare providers is how nutrition and food intersect with this multiplicity of COVID-19 symptoms and disparities, in different ways and to different degrees.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Addressing the sugar, salt, and fat issue the science of food way

  npj Science of Food · 2018-07-10 · 16 citations

  editorialOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Purification and site-specific N-glycosylation analysis of human recombinant butyrylcholinesterase from Nicotiana benthamiana

  Biochemical Engineering Journal · 2018-11-10 · 17 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Purification, characterization, and N‐glycosylation of recombinant butyrylcholinesterase from transgenic rice cell suspension cultures

  Biotechnology and Bioengineering · 2018-02-07 · 22 citations

  articleOpen access

  Recombinant butyrylcholinesterase produced in a metabolically regulated transgenic rice cell culture (rrBChE) was purified to produce a highly pure (95%), active form of enzyme. The developed downstream process uses common manufacturing friendly operations including tangential flow filtration, anion-exchange chromatography, and affinity chromatography to obtain a process recovery of 42% active rrBChE. The purified rrBChE was then characterized to confirm its comparability to the native human form of the molecule (hBChE). The recombinant and native enzyme demonstrated comparable enzymatic behavior and had an identical amino acid sequence. However, rrBChE differs in that it contains plant-type complex N-glycans, including an α-1,3 linked core fucose, and a β-1,2 xylose, and lacking a terminal sialic acid. Despite this difference, rrBChE is demonstrated to be an effective stoichiometric bioscavenger for five different organophosphorous nerve agents in vitro. Together, the efficient downstream processing scheme and functionality of rrBChE confirm its promise as a cost-effective alternative to hBChE for prophylactic and therapeutic use.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Impact of diet-derived signaling molecules on human cognition: exploring the food–brain axis

  npj Science of Food · 2017-10-27 · 19 citations

  reviewOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The processes that define mammalian physiology evolved millions of years ago in response to ancient signaling molecules, most of which were acquired by ingestion and digestion. In this way, evolution inextricably linked diet to all major physiological systems including the nervous system. The importance of diet in neurological development is well documented, although the mechanisms by which diet-derived signaling molecules (DSMs) affect cognition are poorly understood. Studies on the positive impact of nutritive and non-nutritive bioactive molecules on brain function are encouraging but lack the statistical power needed to demonstrate strong positive associations. Establishing associations between DSMs and cognitive functions like mood, memory and learning are made even more difficult by the lack of robust phenotypic markers that can be used to accurately and reproducibly measure the effects of DSMs. Lastly, it is now apparent that processes like neurogenesis and neuroplasticity are embedded within layers of interlocked signaling pathways and gene regulatory networks. Within these interdependent pathways and networks, the various transducers of DSMs are used combinatorially to produce those emergent adaptive gene expression responses needed for stimulus-induced neurogenesis and neuroplasticity. Taken together, it appears that cognition is encoded genomically and modified by epigenetics and epitranscriptomics to produce complex transcriptional programs that are exquisitely sensitive to signaling molecules from the environment. Models for how DSMs mediate the interplay between the environment and various neuronal processes are discussed in the context of the food-brain axis.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Somen Nandi

  University of California, Davis

  14 shared

• Robert W. West

  11 shared

• Karen A. McDonald

  University of California, Davis

  10 shared

• Che-Yi Chao

  Asia University

  9 shared

• Ning Huang

  China Agricultural University

  9 shared

• Robert C. Tait

  9 shared

• Kevin Dawson

  University of California, Davis

  8 shared

• Shao‐Chih Chiu

  China Medical University

  8 shared