Veronica Jimenez-Ortiz, Ph.D., M.Sc., B.Pharm.

Associate Professor of Biological Science

Office: MH-307, Lab: DBH-124

Phone: 657-278-2477

Dr. Jimenez is an Associate Professor in the Biological Science department. She obtained her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Chile and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases of the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on parasitic diseases that affect underserved communities, like Chagas disease and sleeping sickness. Dr. Jimenez uses molecular biology and electrophysiology to study ion channels and transporters that regulate host-pathogen interactions. She has received multiple grants from the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health, including a prestigious K-99 award. She is the coordinator of the U-Rise program and PI on an R15 research grant. She serves as ad-hoc reviewer for NSF, NIH and AHA as well as multiple scientific journals.

Veronica Jimenez photo

Research Interests

Parasitic infections, role of ion channels in sensing and adaptation to environmental conditions in protozoan parasites; mechanosensation; electrophysiology.

Fun Fact

Dr. Jimenez was born in Spain and has lived in three countries (Argentina, Chile, and the US). She likes cooking and loves cats.

Publications

Jimenez, V; Mesones, S. Down the membrane hole: ion channels in protozoan parasites. PlosPathogens, 2022 Dec 29;18(12):e1011004. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1011004. eCollection 2022 Dec. PMID: 36580479.

Jimenez V, Miranda K, Augusto I. The old and the new about the contractile vacuole of Trypanosoma cruzi. J Eukaryot Microbiol. 2022 Aug 2;:e12939. doi: 10.1111/jeu.12939. Review. PubMed PMID: 35916682.

Dave N, Cetiner U, Arroyo D, Fonbuena J, Tiwari M, Barrera P, Lander N, Anishkin A, Sukharev S, Jimenez V. A novel mechanosensitive channel controls osmoregulation, differentiation, and infectivity in Trypanosoma cruzi. Elife. 2021 Jul 2;10. doi: 10.7554/eLife.67449.

Magallon J, Vu P, Reeves C, Kwan S, Phan K, Oakley-Havens CL, Rocha K, Jimenez V, Ramirez MS, Tolmasky ME. Amikacin potentiator activity of zinc complexed to a pyrithione derivative with enhanced solubility. Sci Rep. 2022 Jan 7;12(1):285. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-04724-4.

Martinez J, Razo-Gutierrez C, Le C, Courville R, Pimentel C, Liu C, Fung SE, Tuttobene MR, Phan K, Vila AJ, Shahrestani P, Jimenez V, Tolmasky ME, Becka SA, Papp-Wallace KM, Bonomo RA, Soler-Bistue A, Sieira R, Ramirez MS. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) augments metabolism and virulence expression factors in Acinetobacter baumannii. Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 26;11(1):4737. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-81714-6.

Reeves CM, Magallon J, Rocha K, Tran T, Phan K, Vu P, Yi Y, Oakley-Havens CL, Cedano J, Jimenez V, Ramirez MS, Tolmasky ME. Aminoglycoside 6'-N-acetyltransferase Type Ib [AAC(6')-Ib]-Mediated Aminoglycoside Resistance: Phenotypic Conversion to Susceptibility by Silver Ions. Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Dec 31;10(1). doi: 10.3390/antibiotics10010029.

Barrera, P, Skorka, C; Boktor, M; Dave, N and Jimenez, V. Novel Calcium-Activated Potassium Channel Controls Membrane Potential and Intracellular pH in Trypanosoma cruzi. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol., 15 January 2020. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2019.00464

Rodman, N; Martinez, J; Fung, S; Nakanouchi, J; Myers, AL; Harris, C; Dang, E; Fernandez, J; Liu, C; Mendoza, A; Jimenez, V; Nikolaidis, N; Brennan, C; Bonomo, RA; Sieira, R and Ramirez, MS. Human pleural fluid elicits pyruvate and phenylalanine metabolism in Acinetobacter baumannii to enhance cytotoxicity and immune evasion. Front. Microbiol., 17 July 2019. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.01581