Photo of Robert Ryan, Extension

Robert Ryan

Professor

Summary

Heart disease is a major cause of mortality in North America. While it is clear that development of cardiovascular disease is a multi-factorial process, it is evident that aberrations in lipid metabolism represent a significant risk factor. It is widely accepted that exchangeable apolipoproteins function in regulation of plasma lipid levels, yet the molecular basis for this role is not fully understood. Increased knowledge of the properties of exchangeable apolipoproteins will be useful in the development of therapeutic strategies to influence plasma lipid levels and thereby, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, by understanding the molecular basis of apolipoprotein function in lipid transport and metabolism, it should be possible to design strategies to enhance or interfere with biological processes dependent upon their action. Knowledge gained has direct relevance to the treatment of dyslipidemias, including hypercholesterolemia and disorders of lipid metabolism that affect children and adults.

Education

Bellarmine College Preparatory, 1972
B.S. University of Nevada, 1977
Ph.D. University of Nevada, 1982

Courses

I have taught from 1988 - 2017 in course ranging from Introductory Biochemistry, Advanced Lipid Biochemistry, Human Nutrition and Metabolic Basis of Disease.  At the present time, my teaching duties are limited to guest lectures in courses within the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Honors and Awards

2009                            University of Nevada Outstanding Graduate Alumnus Award

2010                            National Institutes of Health MERIT Award

2011                            NIH Career Enhancement Award for Stem Cell Research (K18) Award

2013                           Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland Career Achievement Award

Accomplishments

1995–2000      Professor, Dept. of Biochemistry & Lipid and Lipoprotein Research Group, University of Alberta

2/99– 6/00       Director, Lipid and Lipoprotein Research Group, University of Alberta

7/00– 7/01       Research Scientist, Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), Oakland, CA

8/01– 5/17       Senior Scientist, CHORI.

6/04 – 9/17      Adjunct Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology, UC Berkeley

3/10- 6/14        Chair, CHORI Center for Prevention of Obesity, Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes

1/11-12/11       Visiting Professor, Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University

7/17- present  Professor and Chair, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nevada, Reno

Service

Chair, 2012 Gordon Research Conference on Lipoprotein Metabolism.

Member, Internal Review Committee – NIH Program Project on Lipoprotein Metabolism, Wake Forest University; Larry Rudel, PI. (January 2012)

Member (Ad Hoc), NIH AICS Study Section; February 2015 meeting

Chair, NIH EMNR-W (02) Special Emphasis Panel meeting, July 22, 2015

Member (Ad Hoc), NIH MCE Study Section; October 2015 meeting

News & Journal Articles, Fact Sheets, Reports...

Journals
Studies of the cardiolipin interactome. Fox, C.A. and Ryan, R.O. 2022, Prog. Lipid Res. 88, 101195 PMID: 36202313.
Cardiolipin nanodisks confer protection against doxorubicin-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Fox, C.A., Romenskaia, I. Dagda, R.K. and Ryan, R.O. 2022, BBA Biomembranes.1864, 183984; DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2022.183984. PMID: 35724738
Diversion of acetyl CoA to 3-methylglutaconic acid caused by discrete inborn errors of metabolism. Jones, D.E., Jennings, E.A. and Ryan, R.O. 2022, Metabolites, 12, 377. PMCID: PMC9146172
Role of non-enzymatic chemical reactions in 3-methylglutaconic aciduria Jones, D.E., Romenskaia, I., Kosma, D.K. and Ryan R.O. 2022, FEBS J. 289, 2948-2958. PMCID: PMC9117401
Foam fractionation of a recombinant biosurfactant apolipoprotein. Lethcoe, K., Fox, C.A. and Ryan, R.O. 2022, J. Biotechnol. 343, 25-31. PMCID: PMC8714704.
Lutein nanodisks protect retinal pigment epithelial cells from UV light induced damage. Moschetti, A., Fox, C.A., McGowen, S. and Ryan, R.O. 2022, Front. Nanotechnol. 4:955022. PMCID: PMC9851610. doi: 10.3389/fnano.2022.955022
Cardiac-specific deficiency of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A lyase in mice causes cardiomyopathy and a distinct pattern of acyl-coenzyme A-related biomarkers. Yang, H., Wang, Y., Tang, M-C., Waters, P., Wang, S., Allard, P., Ryan, R.O., Nuyt, A-M., Paradis, P., Schiffrin, E.L., Furtos, A. and Mitchell, G.A. 2022, Mol. Genet. Metab. 137, 257-264. PMID: 36228350
Calcium-induced release of cytochrome c from cardiolipin nanodisks: implications for apoptosis Fox, C.A., Lethcoe, K., and Ryan, R.O. 2021, BBA Biomembranes, 1863, 183722. PMCID: PMC8464532
Reconstituted HDL as a therapeutic delivery device. Fox, C.A., Moschetti, A. and Ryan R.O. 2021, BBA Mol. Cell Biol. Lipids, 1866, 159025. PMCID: PMC9336189
Inborn errors of metabolism associated with 3-methylglutaconic aciduria. Jones, D.E., Klacking, E. and Ryan R.O. 2021, Clin. Chim. Acta. 522, 96-104. PMCID: PMC8464523
Isomerization of 3-methylglutaconic acid. Jones, D.E., Ricker, J.D., Geary, L.M., Kosma, D.K. and Ryan R.O. 2021, JIMD Reports, 58, 61-69. PMCID: PMC7932859
Coenzyme Q nanodisks counteract the effect of statins on C2C12 myotubes. Moschetti, A, Dagda, R.K. and Ryan, R.O. 2021, Nanomedicine NBM, 37, 102439. PMCID: PMC8464493
trans-3-methylglutaconyl CoA isomerization-dependent protein acylation. Young, R., Jones, D.E., Diacovich, L., Witkowski, A. and Ryan, R.O. 2021, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 534, 261-265. PMCID: PMC7785636
Isomerization of trans-3-methylglutaconic acid Dylan E. Jones, J. David Ricker, Laina M. Geary, Dylan K. Kosma, Robert O. Ryan 2020, JIMD Reports. 2020;1-9
Dye binding assay reveals doxorubicin preference for DNA versus cardiolipin Fox, C.A. and Ryan R.O. 2020, Anal. Biochem. 594, 113617. PMCID: PMC7058507
3-methylglutaric acid in mitochondrial energy metabolism. Jones, D.E., Perez, L. and Ryan, R.O. 2020, Clin. Chim. Acta. 502, 233-239. PMCID: PMC6994337
Evaluation of cardiolipin nanodisks as lipid replacement therapy for Barth syndrome. J Biomed Res. 32 Ikon N, Hsu FF, Shearer J, Forte TM, Ryan RO 2018, J Biomed Res. 32(2): 107–112.
Effect of curcumin on amyloid-like aggregates generated from methionine-oxidized apolipoprotein A-I. Krishnamo01thy A, Tavoosi N, Chan GKL, Liu J, Ren G, Cavigiolio G and Ryan RO 2018, FEBS Open Bio. 2018 Jan 10;8(2):302-310.
Sphingadienes show therapeutic efficacy in neuroblastoma in vitro and in vivo by targeting the AKT signaling pathway. Zhao P, Aguilar AE, Lee JY, Paul LA, Suh JH, Puri L, Zhang M, Beckstead J, Witkowski A, Ryan RO, Saba JD 2018, Invest New Drugs. 36(5):743-754
Barth Syndrome: Connecting Cardiolipin to Cardiomyopathy. Ikon N, Ryan RO. 2017, Lipids. 2017 Feb;52(2):99-108.
Cardiolipin and mitochondrial cristae organization. Ikon N, Ryan RO. 2017, Biochim Biophys Acta. 2017 Jun;1859(6):1156-1163.
Apolipoprotein A-V gene therapy for disease prevention / treatment: a critical analysis. Forte TM, Sharma V, Ryan RO 2016, J Biomed Res. 2016 Mar;30(2):88-93.
Apolipoprotein A5: Extracellular and Intracellular Roles in Triglyceride Metabolism. Forte TM, Ryan RO. 2015, Curr Drug Targets. 2015;16(12):1274-80. Review.
Metabolic annotation of 2-ethylhydracrylic acid. Ryan RO 2015, Clin Chim Acta. 2015 Aug 25;448:91-7
Apolipoprotein A-V is present in bile and its secretion increases with lipid absorption in Sprague-Dawley rats. Zhang LS, Sato H, Yang Q, Ryan RO, Wang DQ, Howles PN, Tso P. 2015, Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2015 Dec 1;309(11):G918-25
Curcumin homing to the nucleolus: mechanism for initiation of an apoptotic program. Ghosh M, Ryan RO. 2014, J Nutr Biochem. 2014 Nov;25(11):1117-1123.