phone: (787) 832-4040 ext. 3146 email: elsie.pares@upr.edu office: Q-143 Lab: Q-030 Group Members:

Education PhD Purdue University, 2000 Academic networks https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2734-9339 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elsie-Pares https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/elsie.pares-matos.1/bibliography/public/ Teaching Interests Biochemistry Biophysical Chemistry Organic Chemistry Recognitions 2021 Leonardo Igaravídez Award, ACS-PR 2019-2020 Marquis Who’s Who, Best Teacher in America 2014 Best Mentor Award, Industrial Biotechnology Student Association (AEBI) 2014 MGM Award, Honorable Sorority Sigma Delta Nu 2013 RCR Award, Honorable Sorority Sigma Delta Nu 2007 Coordinator Award, 31st ACS Senior Technical Meeting, ACS-PR 2005 ACS ChemLuminary Award: Education in Chemistry Research Interests Our group emphasizes the study of protein-protein, protein-DNA and protein-small molecule interactions of a diverse selection of research topics based on health and biosensor applications. Here is a short list of research topics under development: ·    Protein-Protein or Protein-Small Molecule Interactions o   Ras2p, Rom2p and Wsc-family of stress sensors: Understanding how yeast cells can remodel its cell wall and cell membrane when exposed to several stress conditions. These proteins are involved in the cell wall integrity pathway (CWIP) as a key role in cell to survive. o   Serum amyloid A (SAA): Sequestration of new protein-SAA complexes and its characterization through mass spectrometry. o   Transferrin: Study the mechanisms involved on selected anticancer metallocene dichlorides for interaction with apo-human transferrin. ·    Protein-Nucleic Acid Interactions o   VEGF/Insulin/Lysozyme: New crystallization methods for DNA aptamer-protein complexes and its biomedical applications. o   FAP1: Determination of its regulatory function in yeast cells. o   NF-IL6: Regulation of the promoter region of the gene during macrophage differentiation. ·    Biosensor Design Babesiosis: Identification of small peptides as biomarkers for biosensor applications. Specific Methods for Research Interests ·        Bioinformatics: single molecule design & molecular docking ·        Advanced DNA Applications: RT-PCR, qPCR ·        Discovering Electrophoresis: native-PAGE, SDS-PAGE, Western blot, EMSA ·        Protein Chromatography: AKTA-100 ·        Protein Crystallization: hanging-drop method Protein Characterization: UV-VIS, Circular Dichroism, Microplate Reader, Qubit 3.0, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Selected Publications 1. Heredia FL, Roche-Lima A, Parés-Matos EI. A novel artificial intelligence-based approach for identification of deoxynucleotide aptamers. PLoS Comput Biol. 2021 Aug 3;17(8):e1009247. PMCID: PMC8362955. 2. Güette-Fernandez JR, Narváez-Pita X, Meléndez E, Parés-Matos EI. Interaction of metallocene dichlorides with apo-human transferrin: A spectroscopic study and cytotoxic activity against human cancer cell lines. MedCrave JIMBOA. 2020 July 31; 5(3):79-109. PMCID: PMC7668563. 3. Heredia FL, Resto PJ, Parés-Matos EI. Fast Adhesion of Gold Nanoparticles (AuNPs) to a Surface Using Starch Hydrogels for Characterization of Biomolecules in Biosensor Applications. Biosensors (Basel). 2020 Aug 14;10(8). doi: 10.3390/bios10080099. PMCID: PMC7460011.