{"id":19580,"date":"2025-03-18T13:40:43","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T13:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/?page_id=19580"},"modified":"2025-03-19T15:13:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T15:13:59","slug":"diego-e-villafane-ortiz-2024-2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/diego-e-villafane-ortiz-2024-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Diego E. Villafa\u00f1e-Ortiz (2024-2025)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLinkedin<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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www.linkedin.com\/in\/diego-e-villafa\u00f1e-ortiz-2ba357317\/<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Short Bio<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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My name is Diego Villafa\u00f1e Ortiz<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>and I\u2019m from Isabela, Puerto Rico.<\/span> I graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla Campus with a bachelor\u2019s degree in biomedical science. <\/span>\u00a0I\u2019m working with Dr. Jos\u00e9 Garc\u00eda Arrar\u00e1s under the Research and Mentoring for a Postbaccalaureate in Biological Sciences (RaMP-UP) postbaccalaureate program. The project I\u2019m working on tries to understand the potential role of the immune system in the modulation of the regeneration process of the sea cucumber H. glaberrima.\u00a0<\/span>After RaMP-UP, I plan to pursue graduate studies in Immunology or Regenerative Medicine to understand the human body\u2019s immune reactions, its intricate defense mechanisms, and its untapped potential for regeneration.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A fun fact or hobby: <\/b>My favorite hobbies are crocheting and baking sweets, especially cookies.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Research<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Mentor:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Jos\u00e9 E. Garc\u00eda-Arrar\u00e1s, PhD<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Co-mentor:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Humberto Ortiz-<\/span>Zuazaga, PhD<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Project Title:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Characterization of Immune Cell Type Populations in Coelomic Fluid and Tissue from Holothuria <\/span>glaberrima<\/span><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Project Description:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In holothurians, it has been inferred <\/span>that coelomocytes<\/span>, a heterogeneous population of free-circulating immune-associated cells, likely play <\/span>an important role<\/span> in the regeneration of organs. A single-cell RNA Sequencing of a 9-day regenerating intestine of the sea cucumber Holothuria <\/span>glaberrima<\/span> distinguished thirteen clusters each with distinct expression profiles. Four clusters showed a high expression of genes related to the immune system suggesting that these cells are coelomocytes. Representative genes for each cluster were selected based on their expression profile, defining populations that expressed Fibrinogen-like protein A (FIBA), Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein complex acid labile subunit (ALS), SCO-<\/span>spondin<\/span> (SSPO), or <\/span>Balbiani<\/span> ring protein 3 (Brp-3). An In Situ (HCR-FISH) was performed on coelomic fluid and tissue samples collected <\/span>at<\/span>various<\/span> regeneration stages to <\/span>identify<\/span> these clusters and verify their influence on the regeneration process.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Linkedin www.linkedin.com\/in\/diego-e-villafa\u00f1e-ortiz-2ba357317\/ Short Bio My name is Diego Villafa\u00f1e Ortiz\u00a0and I\u2019m from Isabela, Puerto Rico. I graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla Campus with a bachelor\u2019s degree in biomedical science. \u00a0I\u2019m working with Dr. Jos\u00e9 Garc\u00eda Arrar\u00e1s under … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-19580","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19580"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19737,"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19580\/revisions\/19737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/natsci.uprrp.edu\/ramp-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}