R. Claudio Aguilar

About

R. Claudio Aguilar is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Purdue University. His research focuses on cell and molecular biology, particularly in the study of protein trafficking and membrane transport related to cell polarity establishment, which is essential for animal development and physiological functions such as synaptic transmission and immune response. His laboratory employs genetic, biochemical, and cell biology techniques using yeast and mammalian cells to investigate protein-protein interactions at the molecular level through bioinformatics, biochemical, and genetic tools, including the two-hybrid system. The physiological relevance of these interactions is examined through functional assays, microscopy of live and fixed cells, and genetic approaches. Aguilar holds a Ph.D. from the University of Buenos Aires, obtained in 1996. His contributions to the field have been recognized through numerous awards, including being named a Purdue University Faculty Scholar in 2018, and receiving the Sigma Xi Midcareer Research Award in 2017, among others. He is actively involved in professional organizations such as the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Protein Society, and the American Society for Cancer Research. Aguilar has delivered invited lectures internationally, discussing topics such as bladder cancer therapeutics, cell biology in health and disease, and the cellular mechanisms underlying Lowe syndrome. His work emphasizes…

Research topics

• Biology
• Genetics
• Cell biology
• Cancer research
• Biochemistry
• Molecular biology
• Medicine

Selected publications

• Ciliopathies: The Trafficking Connection

  Traffic · 2014-07-15 · 76 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior author

  The primary cilium (PC) is a very dynamic hair-like membrane structure that assembles/disassembles in a cell-cycle-dependent manner and is present in almost every cell type. Despite being continuous with the plasma membrane, a diffusion barrier located at the ciliary base confers the PC properties of a separate organelle with very specific characteristics and membrane composition. Therefore, vesicle trafficking is the major process by which components are acquired for cilium formation and mainte…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A novel, safe, fast and efficient treatment for Her2‐positive and negative bladder cancer utilizing an EGF‐anthrax toxin chimera

  International Journal of Cancer · 2019-10-04 · 29 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the United States, and it exhibits an alarming 70% recurrence rate. Thus, the development of more efficient antibladder cancer approaches is a high priority. Accordingly, this work provides the basis for a transformative anticancer strategy that takes advantage of the unique characteristics of the bladder. Unlike mucin‐shielded normal bladder cells, cancer cells are exposed to the bladder lumen and overexpress EGFR. Therefore, we used an EGF‐conj…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) upregulates β1 integrin and increases migration of human trophoblast Swan 71 cells via PI3K and MAPK activation

  Experimental Cell Research · 2016-03-01 · 27 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• RhoGTPase-binding proteins, the exocyst complex and polarized vesicle trafficking

  Small GTPases · 2014-04-01 · 23 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Cell polarity, the asymmetric distribution of proteins and lipids, is essential for a variety of cellular functions. One mechanism orchestrating cell polarity is polarized vesicle trafficking; whereby cargo loaded secretory vesicles are specifically transported to predetermined areas of the cell. The evolutionarily conserved exocyst complex and its small GTPase regulators play crucial roles in spatiotemporal control of polarized vesicle trafficking. In studies on neuronal membrane remodeling and…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Role of Ocrl1 in Primary Cilia Assembly

  International review of cell and molecular biology · 2015-01-01 · 22 citations

  reviewSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01DK109398

  NIH · $665k · 2021

• Restoring Ocrl1 function in Lowe Syndrome and Dent-2 disease

  NIH · $1.7M · 2021–2026

• RIG: Crosstalk between the Endocytosis and Cell Division machineries

  NSF · $175k · 2010–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Juan S. Bonifacino

  39 shared

• Kayalvizhi Madhivanan

  University of California, San Diego

  33 shared

• Brian G. Coon

  University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

  25 shared

• Debarati Mukherjee

  Duke University

  25 shared

• Arpita Sen

  Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research

  20 shared

• Claudia B. Hanna

  Purdue University West Lafayette

  20 shared

• Wen-Chieh Hsieh

  Center for Cancer Research

  15 shared

• Swetha Ramadesikan

  Nationwide Children's Hospital

  14 shared

Labs

• Aguilar LabPI

  Not provided

Awards & honors

• Purdue University Faculty Scholar, 2018
• Sigma Xi Midcareer Research Award, 2017
• Purdue College of Science Graduate Student Mentoring Award,…
• Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation-IN, Faculty…
• Purdue Research Foundation International Travel Grant, 2014

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