Dr. Alexander Birbrair

Dr. Alexander Birbrair

EDUCATION_________________________________________________________________

(2016 – present) Professor, Department of Pathology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.

(2014 – 2016) Posdoc, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA, Field of Study: Stem cell biology, Advisor: Paul S. Frenette, MD.

(2010 – 2014) Ph.D., Neuroscience Program, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA, Field of Study: Stem cell biology, Advisor: Osvaldo Delbono, Ph.D., MD.

(2009 – 2010) Research Scholar, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA, Field of Study: Muscle biology, Advisor: Osvaldo Delbono, Ph.D, MD.

(2005 - 2009) B.S., Biomedical Science, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, UESC, Ilheus, Brazil, Field of Study: Genetics of microorganisms, Advisors: Rachel Passos Rezende, Ph.D. and Joao Carlos Teixeira Dias, Ph.D.

 

HONORS AND AWARDS_______________________________________________________

2015. Recipient of Gordon A. Melson Outstanding Doctoral Student Award for 2015

2014. Winner of 3-minute thesis (3MT) oral competition (2014 Fourteenth Annual Wake Forest University Graduate Student & Postdoc Research Day)

2014. Editor's choice in Journal of Gerontology Biological Sciences Volume 69 Issue 12 December 2014 for the manuscript “Human Slow Troponin T (TNNT1) Pre-mRNA Alternative Splicing is An Indicator of Skeletal Muscle Response to Resistance Exercise in Older Adults.” by Zhang T, Choi SJ, Wang ZM, Birbrair A, Messi ML, Jin J-P, Marsh AP, Nicklas B, and Delbono O.

2013. Awarded with the Glenn/AFAR Scholarship for Research in the Biology of Aging

2012. Wake Forest University Graduate and Postdoctoral Students Research Day (Troponin T nuclear localization and its role in skeletal muscle aging) (12th annual competition) (First place) (Co-author)

2008. “Metagenome of soil contaminated with petroleum.” Scholarship from : Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia (FAPESB), Brazil.

2006. “Best poster (Genetic diversity between isolates of Chromobacterium violaceum) presented in the area of biological sciences during the XII Seminário de Iniciação Científica da Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz – UESC, Ilhéus – Bahia.”

 

PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS_____________________________________________

  1. Andreotti JP, Lousado L, Magno LAV, Birbrair A. (2017) Hypothalamic Neurons Take Center Stage in the Neural Stem Cell Niche. Cell Stem Cell. 21(3):293-294.

  1. Prazeres PHDM, Almeida VM, Lousado L, Andreotti JP, Paiva AE, Santos GSP, Azevedo PO, Souto L, Almeida GG, Filev R, Mintz A, Gonçalves R, Birbrair A. (2017) Macrophages Generate Pericytes in the Developing Brain. Cell Mol Neurobiol. In press.

  1. Sena IFG, Prazeres PHDM, Santos GSP, Borges IT, Azevedo PO, Andreotti JP, Almeida VM, Paiva AE, Guerra DAP, Lousado L, Souto L, Mintz A, Birbrair A. (2017) LepR+ cells dispute hegemony with Gli1+ cells in bone marrow fibrosis. Cell Cycle. In press.

  1. Paiva AE, Lousado L, Almeida VM, Andreotti JP, Santos GSP, Azevedo PO, Sena IFG, Prazeres PHDM, Borges IT, Azevedo V, Mintz A, Birbrair A. (2017) Endothelial cells as precursors for osteoblasts in the metastatic prostate cancer bone. Neoplasia. In press.

  1. Lousado L, Prazeres PHDM, Andreotti JP, Paiva AE, Azevedo PO, 425 Santos GSP, Filev R, Mintz A, Birbrair A. (2017) Schwann cell precursors as a source for adrenal gland chromaffin cells. Cell Death and Disease. In press.

  1. Almeida VM, Paiva AE, Sena IFG, Mintz A, Magno LAV, Birbrair A. (2017) Pericytes make spinal cord breathless after injury. Neuroscientist. In press.

  1. Azevedo PO, Lousado L, Paiva AE, Andreotti JP, Santos GSP, Sena IFG, Prazeres PHDM, Filev R, Mintz A, Birbrair A. (2017) Endothelial cells maintain neural stem cells quiescent in their niche. Neuroscience. In press.

  1. Coatti GC, Frangini M, Valadares MC, Gomes JP, Lima NO, Cavaçana N, Assoni AF, Pelatti MV, Birbrair A, de Lima ACP, Singer JM, Rocha FMM, Da Silva GL, Mantovani MS, Macedo-Souza LI, Ferrari MFR, Zatz M. (2017) Pericytes Extend Survival of ALS SOD1 Mice and Induce the Expression of Antioxidant Enzymes in the Murine Model and in IPSCs Derived Neuronal Cells from an ALS Patient. Stem Cell Reviews and Reports. In press. PMID: 28710685.

  2. Sena IFG, Prazeres PHDM, Santos GSP, Borges IT, Azevedo PO, Andreotti JP, Almeida VM, Paiva AE, Guerra DAP, Lousado L, Souto L, Mintz A, Birbrair A. (2017) Identity of Gli1+ cells in the bone marrow. Exp Hematol. In press. PMID: 28690072.

  1. Borges I, Sena I, Azevedo P, Andreotti J, Almeida V, Paiva A, Santos G, Guerra D, Prazeres P, Mesquita LL, Silva LSB, Leonel C, Mintz A, Birbrair A. (2017) Lung as a Niche for Hematopoietic Progenitors. Stem Cell Reviews and Reports. In press. PMID: 28669077.

  1. Birbrair A, Borges IDT, Gilson Sena IF, Almeida GG, da Silva Meirelles L, Gonçalves R, Mintz A, Delbono O. (2017) How Plastic Are Pericytes? Stem Cells Dev. 26(14):1013-1019. PMID: 28490256.

  1. Dias Moura Prazeres PH, Sena IFG, Borges IDT, de Azevedo PO, Andreotti JP, de Paiva AE, de Almeida VM, de Paula Guerra DA, Pinheiro Dos Santos GS, Mintz A, Delbono O, Birbrair A. (2017) Pericytes are heterogeneous in their origin within the same tissue. Dev Biol. 427(1):6-11. PMID: 28479340.

  1. Pereira LX, Viana CTR, Orellano LAA, Almeida SA, Vasconcelos AC, Goes AM, Birbrair A, Andrade SP, Campos PP. (2017) Synthetic matrix of polyether-polyurethane as a biological platform for pancreatic regeneration. Life Sciences. 176:67-74. PMID: 28336399.

  1. Asada N, Kunisaki Y, Pierce H, Wang Z, Fernandez NF, Birbrair A, Ma'ayan A, Frenette PS. (2017) Differential cytokine contributions of perivascular haematopoietic stem cell niches. Nature Cell Biology. 19(3):214-223. PMID: 28218906.

  1. Birbrair A, Sattiraju A, Zhu D, Zulato G, Batista I, Nguyen VT, Messi ML, Solingapuram Sai KK, Marini FC, Delbono O, Mintz A. (2017) Novel Peripherally Derived Neural-Like Stem Cells as Therapeutic Carriers for Treating Glioblastomas. Stem Cells Translational Medicine. 6(2):471-481. PMID: 28191774.

  1. Birbrair A. (2016) Learn new languages to get ahead. Nature Biotechnology. 34:1073-1074. PMID: 27727214.

  1. Birbrair A and Frenette PS. (2016). Niche heterogeneity in the bone marrow. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1370(1):82-96. PMID: 27015419.

  1. Zhang T, Pereyra AS, Wang ZM, Birbrair A, Reisz JA, Files DC, Purcell L, Feng X, Messi ML, Feng H, Chalovich J, Jin JP, Furdui C, Delbono O. (2016) Calpain inhibition rescues troponin T3 fragmentation, increases Cav1.1 , and enhances skeletal muscle force in aging sedentary mice. Aging Cell. 15(3):488-98. PMID: 26892246.

  1. Khan JA, Mendelson A, Kunisaki Y, Birbrair A, Kou Y, Arnal A, Pinho S, Ciero P, Nakahara F, Ma’ayan A, Bergman A, Merad Mand Frenette PS. (2015) Identification of a portal vessel-associated fetal liver hematopoietic stem cell niche. Science. 351:176-180. PMID: 26634440.

  1. Birbrair A and Delbono O. (2015). Pericytes are Essential for Skeletal Muscle Formation. Stem Cell Reviews and Reports. 11(4):547-8. PMID: 25896402.

  1. Birbrair A, Zhang T, Wang ZM, Messi ML, Mintz A and Delbono O. (2015). Pericytes at the intersection between tissue regeneration and pathology. Clinical Science. 128(2): 81–93. PMID: 25236972.

  1. Zhang T, Birbrair A, Wang ZM, Messi ML, Marsh AP, Leng I, Nicklas BJ, Delbono O. (2015). Improved knee extensor strength with resistance training associates with muscle specific miRNAs in older adults. Exp Gerontol. 62:7-13. PMID: 25560803.

  1. Birbrair A, Zhang T, Files DC, Mannava S, Smith T, Wang ZM, Messi ML, Mintz A, Delbono O. (2014). Type-1 pericytes accumulate after tissue injury and produce collagen in an organ-dependent manner. Stem Cell Res Ther. 5(6):122. PMID: 25376879.

  1. Birbrair A, Zhang T, Wang ZM, Messi ML, Mintz A and Delbono O. (2014). Pericytes: Multitasking Cells in the Regeneration of Injured, Diseased, and Aged Skeletal Muscle. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. 6:245. PMID: 25278877.

  1. Birbrair A, Zhang T, Wang ZM, Messi ML, Olson JD, Mintz A and Delbono O. (2014). Type-2 Pericytes Participate in Normal and Tumoral Angiogenesis. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 307 (1): C25-C38. PMID: 24788248

  1. Zhang T, Choi SJ, Wang ZM, Birbrair A, Messi ML, Jin J-P, Marsh AP, Nicklas B, and Delbono O. (2014). Human Slow Troponin T (TNNT1) Pre-mRNA Alternative Splicing is An Indicator of Skeletal Muscle Response to Resistance Exercise in Older Adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 69(12):1437-47. PMID: 24368775.

  1. Birbrair A, T Zhang, ZM Wang, ML Messi, A Mintz and O Delbono. (2013). Type-1 Pericytes Participate in Fibrous Tissue Deposition in Aged Skeletal Muscle. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 305 (11): C1098-C1113. PMID: 24067916.

  1. Birbrair A, T Zhang, ZM Wang, ML Messi, GN Enikolopov, A Mintz and O Delbono. (2013). Role of Pericytes in Skeletal Muscle Regeneration and Fat Accumulation. Stem Cells Dev. 22 (16): 2298-314. PMID: 23517218.

  1. Zhang, T, Birbrair, A, and Delbono, O. (2013). Nonmyofilament-Associated Troponin T3 Nuclear and Nucleolar Localization Sequence and Leucine Zipper Domain Mediate Muscle Cell Apoptosis. Cytoskeleton (Hoboken). 70(3):134-47. PMID: 23378072.

  1. Birbrair A, T Zhang, ZM Wang, ML Messi, GN Enikolopov, A Mintz and O Delbono. (2013). Skeletal muscle neural progenitor cells exhibit properties of NG2-glia. Exp Cell Res 319:45–63. PMID: 22999866.

  1. Birbrair A, T Zhang, ZM Wang, ML Messi, GN Enikolopov, A Mintz and O Delbono. (2013). Skeletal muscle pericyte subtypes differ in their differentiation potential. Stem Cell Res 10:67-84. PMID: 23128780.

  1. Zhang T, Birbrair A, ZM Wang, J Taylor, ML Messi and O Delbono. (2013). Troponin T nuclear localization and its role in aging skeletal muscle. Age (Dordr). 35(2):353-70. PMID: 22189912.

  1. Birbrair A, ZM Wang, ML Messi, GN Enikolopov and O Delbono. (2011). Nestin-GFP transgene reveals neural precursor cells in adult skeletal muscle. PLoS One 6:e16816. PMID: 21304812.

 

INVITED TALKS

Birbrair A, Debisnki W (2011) Are glioma stem cells for real? Neuroscience tutorial, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC.

Birbrair A (2012) Mobilizing a newly discovered neural-like stem cell against glioblastoma. 9th Annual Retreat of the Brain Tumor Center of Excellence, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, NC

Birbrair A, Delbono O (2013) Pericyte Heterogeneity in Tissue Repair with Aging.

WFU Pepper Center External Advisory Board meeting, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, NC

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE_____________________________________________________

Instructor in the Basic Biochemistry course for Biology, Nursing, Veterinary and Agronomy students, UESC, Brazil, 2006.

Instructor in the Cellular Biology course for Biology students, UESC, Brazil, 2007.

"Techniques for Diagnoses of Intestinal Parasites", UESC, Brazil, 2007 (instructor of a short term course)

Instructor in the Medical Bacteriology course for Biomedicine students, UESC, Brazil, 2007.

Lecturer in Pathology course for Biomedicine and Pharmacy, UFMG, Brazil, 2016-present

 

SERVICE_____________________________________________________________________

Institutional

2013 Brain Awareness Outreach Presenter, visits to local K-12 schools

2014 Physiology Understanding (PhUn) Week Presenter, implemented basic physiology lab exercises and presented physiology concepts to K-12 students from Academy of Excellence, Success Institute Charter School and Statesville Christian School.

Ad Hoc Reviewer

Experimental Neurology

Journal of Cell Science

Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine

Journal of Cellular Physiology

Plos One

Stem Cell Research

Stem Cell Reviews and Reports

The American Journal of Pathology

Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Experimental Biology and Medicine

Pathology, Research and Practice

Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology

Stem Cell Reports

International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology

 

LANGUAGES (FLUENT UNDERSTANDING, SPEAKING, WRITING, AND READING)

English, Spanish, Hebrew, Portuguese, and Russian.

 

PROFESSIONAL MEMEBERSHIPS_____________________________________________

(1) American Heart Association (AHA): 2012 - present

(2) Western NC Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience: 2011 – present

(3) International Society for Stem Cell Research: 2013 - present

 

PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES________________________________________________

Osvaldo Delbono, Ph.D., MD.

Tenured Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine

and Physiology and Pharmacology

Sticht Center on Aging

Neuroscience Program

Molecular Medicine and Translational Science Program

Wake Forest School of Medicine

Medical Center Boulevard

Winston-Salem, NC 27157

Phone: 336-716-9802

Fax: 336-716-2273

Email: [email protected]

 

K. Bridget Brosnihan, Ph.D.

Tenured Professor of Physiology/Pharmacology and Surgical Sciences

Director of the Hypertension Core Laboratory

Director of the Molecular Medicine and Translational Science Program

Wake Forest School of Medicine

Medical Center Blvd

Winston Salem, NC 27157-1032

Phone: 336-716-2795

Fax: 336-716-2456

Email: [email protected]

 

Ronald W. Oppenheim, Ph.D.

Director, Neuroscience Program

Tenured Professor, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

Medical Center Boulevard

Winston-Salem, NC 27157

E-mail: [email protected]

 

Waldemar Debinski, M.D., Ph.D.

Center of Excellence Director, Brain Tumor Center of Excellence
Tenured Professor, Neurosurgery
Translational Science Institute
Comprehensive Cancer Center, Brain Tumor Center of Excellence,
Center for Cancer Genomics,

Center for Biomolecular Imaging, Cancer Biology
Microbiology & Immunology,

Translational Science Institute

Phone: 336-713-7634

Email: [email protected]

 

Akiva Mintz, M.D., Ph.D.

Section Head, Division of Radiologic Science
Assistant Professor, Radiology
Comprehensive Cancer Center
Brain Tumor Center of Excellence
Center for Biomolecular Imaging
Cancer Biology
Radiation Oncology
Neurosurgery

Phone: 336-716-4857

Email: [email protected]

 

 
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