Researcher

Title

• Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Université de Montréal, 2020

Laboratory

Vascular control of organ development and regeneration

• Postdoctoral Fellow in Cardiac Regeneration, Max-Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Bad Nauheim, Germany (2014-2020)
• Postdoctoral Fellow in Metabolism and Immunity, Leiden University & ZF Screens, Leiden, The Netherlands (2012-2014)
• PhD, University of Barcelona, Barcelona (2007-2012)
• MSc, University of Barcelona, Barcelona (2006-2007)
• BSc in Biology, Universidad de Pais Vasco (UPV/EHU) (2000-2006)

The laboratory is interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating cardiac regeneration, with a special focus on the role that the cardiac endothelium plays during this process. Myocardial infarction is the most common cause of heart injury in humans.  The inability of the human heart to replenish the cardiac tissue eventually leads to heart failure, which constitutes the main cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Contrary to humans, zebrafish are able to regenerate their heart after cardiac damage. Coronary invasion of the damaged tissue spearheads the regenerative response and is required to support cardiac regeneration. We are interested in understanding how the cardiac endothelium regulates different aspects of cardiac regeneration and how alterations in the coronary network formation impact the ability of coronary vessels to support tissue replenishment. 

• Cardiac Regeneration
• Coronary vessels
• Endothelium
• Angiocrine
• Angiogenesis
• Development
• Zebrafish

Career Summary

Dr. Rubén Marín Juez obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Barcelona (SP), where he investigated with Dr. Josep Planas the role of the glucose transporters GLUT2 and GLUT4 in homeostasis and development. Next, he did a postdoc in the group of Prof. Herman Spaink/Dr. Ron Dirks at Leiden University/ZF-Screens (NL). He developed high throughput pipelines for compound testing using zebrafish and studied how metabolism regulates immunity and cardiac development. His postdoctoral training was completed in the laboratory of Prof. Didier Stainier at the Max Planck Institute (DE). Using the zebrafish model, he identified the hitherto unappreciated phenomenon of fast angiogenic revascularization during heart regeneration. His studies revealed that, besides their role as a transport system, coronary vessels are involved in the regulation of cardiomyocyte proliferation and scarring. Moreover, he found that the regenerated coronary network serves as a vascular scaffold available for cardiac muscle to replenish the lost tissue. Dr. Marín Juez was recruited in 2020 as a P.I. at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center and as an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Cellular Biology at the University of Montreal. 

Awards and Distinctions

• Project Grant, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), 2021-2026
• John R. Evans Leaders Fund, Canada Foundation for innovation (CFI), 2021 
• Discovery Grant, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), 2021-2026
• Research Scholar Junior 1 Award,  Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS), 2021-2025 
• CRC1366 Group Leader, German Research Foundation (DFG), 2019-2022
• Shared Expertise Grant, German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), 2019-2020
• Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, EU Commission, 2010-2012
• FPI Scholarship, Ministerio Español de Ciencia e Innovación, 2007-2011 

Publications

PubMed

1. Chowdhury K, Lai SL, Marín-Juez R. Modulation of VEGFA Signaling During Heart Regeneration in Zebrafish. Methods Mol Biol 2022;2475:297-312.
2. El-Sammak H, Yang B, Guenther S, Chen W, Marín-Juez R*, Stainier DYR. A Vegfc-Emilin2a-Cxcl8a Signaling Axis Required for Zebrafish Cardiac Regeneration. Circ Res 2022 Apr ;130(7):1014-1029. 
3. Taddese Tsedeke A, Allanki S, Gentile A, Jimenez-Amilburu V, Rasouli SJ, Guenther S, Lai SL, Stainier DYR, Marín-Juez R. Cardiomyocyte heterogeneity in zebrafish development and regeneration. Dev Bio 2021 Apr 12;476:259-271.
4. Fukuda R, Marín-Juez R, El-Sammak H, Beisaw A, Konzer A, Bhagwat A, Graumann J, Stainier DYR. Stimulation of glycolysis promotes cardiomyocyte proliferation after injury in adult zebrafish. EMBO Reports 2020: e49752
5. Marín-Juez R*, El-Sammak H, Helker CS, Kamezaki A, Mullapudi ST, Bibli SI, Fleming I, Foglia MJ, Poss KD, Stainier DYR*. Coronary revascularization during heart regeneration is regulated by epicardial and endocardial cues and forms a scaffold for cardiomyocyte repopulation. Dev Cell 2019, 51(4):503-515. *Co-corresponding author
6. Collins MM, Ahlberg G, Hansen CV, Guenther S, Marín-Juez R, Sokol AM, El-Sammak H, Piesker J, Hellsten Y, Olesen MS, Stainier DYR, Lundegaard PR. Early sarcomere and metabolic defects in a zebrafish pitx2c cardiac arrhythmia model. PNAS 2019, 116 (48) 24115-24121.
7. Gancz D, Raftrey BC, Perlmoter G, Marín-Juez R, Raviv H, Addadi Y, Golani O, Matsuoka R, Red-Horse K, Stainier DYR, Yaniv K. Distinct origins and molecular mechanisms regulating lymphatic formation during cardiac growth and repair. eLife 2019, Nov 8;8.
8. Lai SL, Marín-Juez R, Stainier DYR. Immune Responses in Cardiac Repair and Regeneration - A comparative point of view. Cell Mol Life Sci 2018, doi: 10.1007/s00018-018-2995-5.
9. Gauvrit S, Villasenor A, Strilic B, Kitchen P, Collins MM, Marín-Juez R, Maischein HM, Canham MA, Brickman JM, Bogue CW, Jayaraman PS, Stainier DYR. The homeobox transcription factor HHEX is an upstream regulator of the VEGFC/FLT4/PROX1 signaling axis during vascular development. Nat Commun 2018, 13;9:2704.    
10. Lai SL, Marín-Juez R, Moura P, Kuenne C, Lai JKH, Taddese Tsedeke A, Guenther S, Looso M, Stainier DYR. Reciprocal analyses in zebrafish and medaka reveal that harnessing the immune response promotes cardiac regeneration. eLife 2017, Jun 20;6.  
11. Gerri C, Marín-Juez R, Marass M, Marks A, Maischein HM, Stainier DYR. Hif1α regulates macrophage-endothelial interactions during blood vessel development in zebrafish. Nat Commun 2017, May 19;8:15492.
12. Marín-Juez R*, Marass M, Gauvrit S, Rossi A, Lai SL, Materna SC, Black BL, Stainier DYR*. Fast revascularization of the injured area is essential to support zebrafish heart regeneration. PNAS 2016, 113(40):11237-11242. *Co-corresponding author
13. Marín-Juez R, Rovira M, Crespo D, van der Vaart M, Spaink HP, Planas JV. GLUT2-mediated glucose uptake and availability are required for embryonic brain development in zebrafish. JCBFM 2015, (35) 74-85.
14. Jimenez-Amilburu V, Jong-Raadsen S, Bakkers J, Spaink HP*, Marín-Juez R.* GLUT12 deficiency during early development results in heart failure and a diabetic phenotype in zebrafish. J Endocrinol 2015, Jan; 224(1):1-15. *Co-corresponding author