Positions
- Associate Professor
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Integrative Physiology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX, US
Education
- Post-Doctoral Fellowship at University Of Maryland At Baltimore
- 01/2004 - Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- PhD from Baylor College Of Medicine
- 01/2001 - Houston, Texas, United States
- MS from University Of Texas Health Science Center
- 01/1996 - San Antonia, Texas, United States
Professional Interests
- Biomedical Imaging
- Cardiovascular Sciences
- Cell and Developmental Biology
- Human Disease
- Skeletal Muscle Physiology
Professional Statement
The Rodney Laboratory investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate skeletal muscle function, with a primary focus on how alterations in calcium (Ca²⁺) signaling, redox balance, and intracellular heat production contribute to muscle health and disease. Leveraging more than two decades of expertise in skeletal muscle physiology, the lab combines state-of-the-art imaging technologies—including confocal microscopy, live-cell calcium imaging, redox biosensors, and organelle-specific thermometry—with in vivo and ex vivo functional assessments, biochemical analyses, and histological approaches.
Current research examines how dysregulated Ca²⁺ handling through the ryanodine receptor (RYR1), oxidative signaling pathways, and mitochondrial function influence muscle performance, aging, congenital myopathies, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and susceptibility to heat-related illness. Major projects focus on defining the role of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ leak in muscle physiology and disease, developing gene-editing and allele-suppression therapies for dominant RYR1-associated myopathies, identifying skeletal muscle mechanisms that drive heat stroke and exertional heat stroke, and exploring novel strategies to reduce muscle-generated heat in individuals with ectodermal dysplasia. Collectively, this work seeks to uncover fundamental biological mechanisms governing muscle function while translating these discoveries into innovative therapeutic strategies, including targeted modulation of Ca²⁺ signaling, genome-editing approaches, and interventions that reduce pathological muscle thermogenesis. These efforts have the potential to improve treatment options for inherited myopathies, muscular dystrophies, heat intolerance disorders, and heat stroke, ultimately enhancing quality of life and clinical outcomes for affected individuals.
Current research examines how dysregulated Ca²⁺ handling through the ryanodine receptor (RYR1), oxidative signaling pathways, and mitochondrial function influence muscle performance, aging, congenital myopathies, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and susceptibility to heat-related illness. Major projects focus on defining the role of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ leak in muscle physiology and disease, developing gene-editing and allele-suppression therapies for dominant RYR1-associated myopathies, identifying skeletal muscle mechanisms that drive heat stroke and exertional heat stroke, and exploring novel strategies to reduce muscle-generated heat in individuals with ectodermal dysplasia. Collectively, this work seeks to uncover fundamental biological mechanisms governing muscle function while translating these discoveries into innovative therapeutic strategies, including targeted modulation of Ca²⁺ signaling, genome-editing approaches, and interventions that reduce pathological muscle thermogenesis. These efforts have the potential to improve treatment options for inherited myopathies, muscular dystrophies, heat intolerance disorders, and heat stroke, ultimately enhancing quality of life and clinical outcomes for affected individuals.
Selected Publications
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Pal,Rituraj; Palmieri,Michela; Loehr,James A.; Li,Shumin; Abo-Zahrah,Reem; Monroe,Tanner O.; Thakur,Poulami B.; Sardiello,Marco; Rodney,George G.. " Src-dependent impairment of autophagy by oxidative stress in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy " Nat Commun. 2014 ; 5 : 5425.
Pubmed PMID: 25028121. -
Pal,Rituraj; Monroe,Tanner O.; Palmieri,Michela; Sardiello,Marco; Rodney,George G.. " Rotenone induces neurotoxicity through Rac1-dependent activation of NADPH oxidase in SHSY-5Y cells. " FEBS Lett. 2014 Jan ; 588 (3) : 472-481.
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Pal R, Basu Thakur P, Li S, Minard C, Rodney GG. " Real-time imaging of NADPH oxidase activity in living cells using a novel fluorescent protein reporter. " PLoS ONE. 2013 ; 8 (5) : e63989.
Pubmed PMID: 23704967. -
Lanner JT, Georgiou DK, Dagnino-Acosta A, Ainbinder A, Cheng Q, Joshi AD, Chen Z, Yarotskyy V, Oakes JM, Lee CS, Monroe TO, Santillan A, Dong K, Goodyear L, Ismailov II, Rodney GG, Dirksen RT, Hamilton SL. " AICAR prevents heat-induced sudden death in RyR1 mutant mice independent of AMPK activation. " Nat. Med.. 2012 ; 18 (2) : 244-51.
Pubmed PMID: 22231556.
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