Bryan J González, PhD

  • Adjunct Assistant Professor of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics at the Columbia University Medical Center

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Overview

Bryan J. González is the Principal Scientist in a biotech company, where his research focuses on cell therapy and drug development for neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to his research activities, he is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics at Columbia University Medical Center, where he serves as the Course Director of Biochemistry at the Institute of Human Nutrition and the Department of Physiology. He holds an MSc in Medical Biology from the University of Lausanne and a Ph.D. in Nutritional and Metabolic Biology from Columbia University. Dr. González has expertise in stem cells, gene editing (CRISPR/Cas9), cell/tissue engineering, and disease modeling of rare and degenerative diseases.

Academic Appointments

  • Adjunct Assistant Professor of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics at the Columbia University Medical Center

Languages

  • French
  • Guarani
  • Spanish

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • MSc, 2013 Medical Biology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
  • PhD, 2019 Nutritional and Metabolic Biology, Columbia University

Research

Dr. Gonzalez conducted his doctoral and post-doctoral research in the labs of Dr. Egli and Dr. Leibel, focusing on the genetics of diabetes and the application of stem cells in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. His studies a provided proof-of-principle that diabetes-causing mutations can be corrected in human pluripotent stem cells using CRISPR/Cas9, which can restore normal beta-cell functionality both in vitro and in vivo, paving the way for cell replacement therapies and a cure. As Principal Scientist/Manager at Fork and Good Inc., Dr. Gonzalez developed porcine cell lines through gene editing, which were cultivated in bioreactors as muscle organoids to produce cultivated meat—a sustainable alternative protein source. He is currently the Principal Scientist in a biotech company, where his research focuses on using stem cells for cell therapy and drug development targeting spinal cord injuries and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Selected Publications

  1. González BJ., Zhao H., Lee J., LeDuc CA., Goulbourne CN., Chen X., Chung WK., Jurczyk A., Gromada J., Shen Y., Goland RS., Leibel RL., Egli D., Reduced calcium levels and accumulation of abnormal insulin granules in stem cell models of HNF1A deficiency. Communications Biology. 2022.
  2. González BJ., Creusot R., Sykes M., Egli D., How Safe are Universal Stem Cells?. Cell Stem Cell. 2020.
  3. Ackeifi C., Wang P., Karakose E., Manning Fox JE., González BJ., Liu H., Wilson J., Swartz E., Berrouet C., Li Y., Kumar K., MacDonald PE., Sanchez R., Thorens B., DeVita R., Homann D., Egli D., Scott DK., Garcia-Ocana A., Stewart AF., GLP-1 receptor agonists synergize with DYRK1A inhibitors to potentiate functional human beta cell regeneration. Science Translational Medicine. 2020.
  4. Kuo T., Damle M., González BJ., Egli D., Lazar MA., Accili D., Induction of a cell-restricted Gc in dedifferentiating β cells contribute to stress-induced β cell dysfunction. JCI Insight. 2019.
  5. Wang P., Karakose E., Liu H., Swartz E., Ackeifi C., Zlatanic V., Wilson J., González BJ., Bender A., Takane KK., Ye L., Harb G., Pagliuca F., Homann D., Egli D., Argmann C., Scott DK., Garcia-Ocana A., Stewart AF., Combined Inhibition of DYRK1A, SMAD, and Trithorax Pathways Synergizes to Induce Robust Replication in Adult Human Beta Cells. Cell Metabolism. 2019.
  6. Guay C., Kruit JK., Rome S., Menoud V., Mulder NL., Jurdzinski A., Mancarella F., Sebastiani C., Donda A., González BJ., Jandus C., Bouzakri K., Pinget M., Boitard C., Romero P., Dotta F., Regazzi R., Lymphocyte-Derived Exosomal MicroRNAs Promote Pancreatic β Cell Death and May Contribute to Type 1 Diabetes Development. Cell Metabolism. 2019.
  7. Manterola M., Brown TM., Oh MY., Garyn C., González BJ., Wolgemuth DJ., BRDT is an essential epigenetic regulator for proper chromatin organization, silencing of sex chromosomes and crossover formation in male meiosis. PLoS Genetics. 2018.

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov