ICEL research, education and collaboration activities (FY 2024, 2025 & 2026)

Research

The Imaging Cores - Electron is a unique full-service facility at the University of Arizona, providing access to advanced expertise in Biological Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) to support basic and translational research, from consultation to high-resolution imaging, data analysis and interpretation. The core facility house the FEI Tecnai G2 Spirit BT transmission electron microscope and several ultramicrotomes, enabling investigators the ultrastructural evaluation and analysis of biological samples, serving the academy and industry.

The ICEL supports research projects totaling $63.2M+ in 44 federal grants and $6.5M+ in 18 non-federal grants. Internal funding awarded 8 proposals through the ORP Core Facilities Pilot Program.

Education

The core facility provides access to hands-on TEM instrument and ultramicrotomy training. From a total of 111 users across 53 labs and 28 departments, 52.11 % training and assisted use were provided to graduate students, postdoctoral fellow, research staff and faculty. 

Publications

2026

Hoover Browne C, Han SW, Farman GP, Smith JE, Kolb J, Gohlke J, Langlais PR, Tonino P, Methawasin M, van der Pijl R, Granzier H. Titin's P-zone domains A164-167 are essential for thick filament structural arrangement. J Gen Physiol. 2026 May 4;158(3):e202513891. doi: 10.1085/jgp.202513891. Epub 2026 Mar 12. PMID: 41817548; PMCID: PMC12981300.

Bernard K, Corenblum MJ, Tonino P, Madhavan L. Bioenergetic and protein processing imbalances in iPSC-dopamine neurons from individuals with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Neurobiol Dis. 2026 Jan; 218:107222. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2025.107222. Epub 2025 Dec 12. PMID: 41391688. 

Zhang, J., Lin, W., Li, Q. et al. SDF-1 loaded dECM patch improves cardiac function in rats after myocardial ischemia. Stem Cell Res Ther 17, 298 (2026). 

Li W, Wang Z, Li M, Jiang Y, Wu S, Cordova L, Kim M, Lu J. Boosting immunogenic tumour cell death via nanotherapeutic targeting of the Stanniocalcin 1 phagocytosis checkpoint for enhanced cancer immunotherapy. Nat Commun. 2026 Apr 28;17(1):5815. doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-72526-1. PMID: 42049751; PMCID: PMC13328599.

Shan Z, Darwish NI, Rivero-Gamez A, Strutzenberg TC, Lyumkis D, Horton NC. Structural Mechanism of Filamentation Induced Dampening of GTP Inhibition of Glutamate Dehydrogenase. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 Sep 25:2026.07.06.736867. doi: 10.64898/2026.07.06.736867. PMID: 42465363; PMCID: PMC13370980.

Shrestha L, Gu H, Satterlee T, He S, Chen QM. Cardiomyocyte derived extracellular mitochondria in activation of macrophages during oxidative stress. Cardiovasc Res. 2026 Mar 26;122(5):593-606. doi: 10.1093/cvr/cvag014. PMID: 41556135; PMCID: PMC13020540.

2025

Thompson AD, McAlister KW, Scholpa NE, Janda J, Hortareas J, Schnellmann RG. Lasmiditan induces mitochondrial biogenesis in primary mouse renal peritubular endothelial cells and augments wound healing and tubular network formation. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2025 Apr 1;328(4):C1318-C1332. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00116.2025. Epub 2025 Mar 13. PMID: 40080391; PMCID: PMC12096908. 

Santiago Raj PV, Gnawali G, Janda J, Scholpa NE, Kaleeswaran V, Girdhar I, Wang W, Schnellmann RG. Discovery of a Novel, Potent, and Selective 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2B Receptor Antagonist that Induces Mitochondrial Biogenesis in the Kidney. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci. 2025 May 30;8(6):1741-1755. doi: 10.1021/acsptsci.5c00161. PMID: 40534670; PMCID: PMC12171882. 

Sutar Y, Adams JS, Wu X, Bhoyarekar V, Garcia Diaz M, Wallace J, Dave M, Zhang QY, Date AA. Rilpivirine Ionic Liquid Nanoemulsion Augments the Oral Bioavailability of Rilpivirine and Its Delivery to the HIV Sanctuary Sites. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2025 Jun 4;17(22):31954-31970. doi: 10.1021/acsami.5c05456. Epub 2025 May 20. PMID: 40392184. 

Santiago Raj PV, Janda J, Scholpa NE, Hurtado KA, Schnellmann RG. MARY1 restores mitochondrial homeostasis and accelerates renal recovery following acute kidney injury. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2025 Oct 1;329(4):F411-F421. doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.00232.2025. Epub 2025 Aug 26. PMID: 40857162. 

Wang Q, Irons EE, Zhang W, Zhao F, Chang MH, Dai E, Jeon J, Hong H, Maeda R, Kim M, Emhoff KA, Yin M, Willard BB, Zheng QY, Prayson RA, Beach J, Yu JS, Hu B, Zhao J, Lin J. Cisplatin-Induced APE2 Overexpression Disrupts MYH9 Function and Causes Hearing Loss. Cancer Res Commun. 2025 Jun 1;5(6):994-1007. doi: 10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-24-0506. PMID: 40464565; PMCID: Page 10 of 18 PMC12179588. 

Gupta AK, Minocha E, Koss KM, Naved BA, Safar-Boueri L, Wertheim JA, Gallon L. A kidney organoid-based readout to assess disease activity in primary and recurrent focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Kidney Int. 2025 Feb 4: S0085-2538(25)00081-X. doi: 10.1016/j.kint.2025.01.018. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39914654.

2024

Gohlke J, Lindqvist J, Hourani Z, Heintzman S, Tonino P, Elsheikh B, Morales A, Vatta M, Burghes A, Granzier H, Roggenbuck J. Pathomechanisms of Monoallelic variants in TTN causing skeletal muscle disease. Hum Mol Genet. 2024 Nov 20;33(23):2003-2023. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddae136. Erratum in: Hum Mol Genet. 2025 Jan 29;34(2):205. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddae181. PMID: 39277846; PMCID: PMC11578113.

Hurtado KA, Schnellmann RG. Mitophagy regulates mitochondrial number following pharmacological induction of mitochondrial biogenesis in renal proximal tubule cells. Front Pharmacol. 2024 Feb 5;15:1344075. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1344075. PMID: 38375036; PMCID: PMC10875001.

2023

Barefield DY, Tonino P, Woulfe KC, Rahmanseresht S, O'Leary TS, Burnham HV, Wasserstrom JA, Kirk JA, Previs MJ, Granzier HL, McNally EM. Myosin-binding protein H-like regulates myosin-binding protein distribution and function in atrial cardiomyocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Dec 19;120(51):e2314920120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2314920120. Epub 2023 Dec 13. PMID: 38091294. pdf

Hurtado KA, Janda J, Schnellmann RG. Lasmiditan restores mitochondrial quality control mechanisms and accelerates renal recovery after ischemia-reperfusion injury. Biochem Pharmacol. 2023 Oct 20:115855. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2023.115855. pdf

Thota, L.N.R.; Rosales, J.L.; Placencia, I.; Zemskov, E.A.; Tonino, P.; Michael, A.N.; Black, S.M.; Chignalia, A.Z. The Pulmonary Endothelial Glycocalyx Modifications in Glypican 1 Knockout Mice Do Not Affect Lung Endothelial Function in Physiological Conditions. Int J Mol Sci. 2023, 24(19), 14568. pdf

Makam S, Sétamou M, Alabi OJ, Day W, Cromey D, Nwugo C. Mitigation of Huanglongbing: Implications of a biologically-enhanced nutritional program on yield, pathogen localization and host gene expression profiles. Plant Dis. 2023 Jul 6. doi: 10.1094/PDIS-10-22-2336-RE. pdf 

2022

Roxas JL, Ramamurthy S, Cocchi K, Rutins I, Harishankar A, Agellon A, Wilbur JS, Sylejmani G, Vedantam G, Viswanathan VK. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli regulates host-cell mitochondrial morphology. Gut Microbes. 2022 Jan-Dec;14(1):2143224. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2022.2143224. pdf

Lindqvist J, Kolb J, de Winter J, Tonino P, Hourani Z, Labeit S, Ottenheijm C, Granzier H. Removal of MuRF1 Increases Muscle Mass in Nemaline Myopathy Models, but Does Not Provide Functional Benefits. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jul 23;23(15):8113. doi: 10.3390/ijms23158113. pdf

Sivinski J, Ngo D, Zerio CJ, Ambrose AJ, Watson ER, Kaneko LK, Kostelic MM, Stevens M, Ray AM, Park Y, Wu C, Marty MT, Hoang QQ, Zhang DD, Lander GC, Johnson SM, Chapman E. Allosteric differences dictate GroEL complementation of E. coli. FASEB J. 2022 Mar;36(3):e22198. doi: 10.1096/fj.202101708RR. PMID: 35199390; PMCID: PMC8887798. pdf

Jandova J, Park SL, Corenblum MJ, Madhavan L, Snell JA, Rounds L, Wondrak GT. Mefloquine induces ER stress and apoptosis in BRAFi-resistant A375-BRAF^V600E /NRAS^Q61K malignant melanoma cells targeting intracranial tumors in a bioluminescent murine model. Mol Carcinog. 2022 Jun;61(6):603-614. doi: 10.1002/mc.23407. Epub 2022 Apr 13. PMID: 35417045; PMCID: PMC9133119. pdf

2021

Biquand A, Spinozzi S, Tonino P, Cosette J, Strom J, Elbeck Z, Knöll R, Granzier H, Lostal W, Richard I. Titin M-line insertion sequence 7 is required for proper cardiac function in mice. J Cell Sci. 2021 Sep 15;134(18):jcs258684. doi: 10.1242/jcs.258684. pdf

A. Biquand, S. Spinozzi, P. Tonino, J. Strom, J. Cosette, Z. Elbeck, R. Knöll, H. Granzier, W. Lostal, I. Richard, OTHER NMDs: EP.360 Is7 domain of titin is essential for cardiac function in mice. Neuromuscular Disorders, Volume 31, Supplement 1, 2021, Page S159, ISSN 0960-8966, doi.org/10.1016/j.nmd.2021.07.385. pdf

Anandhan, A., Nguyen, N., Syal, A., Dreher, L. A., Dodson, M., Zhang, D. D., & Madhavan, L. (2021). Nrf2 loss accentuates parkinsonian pathology and behavioral dysfunction in human α-synuclein overexpressing mice. Aging and Disease, 12(4), 964–982. pdf

Ahmed, N. S., Harrell, L. M., Wieland, D. R., Lay, M. A., Thompson, V. F., & Schwartz, J. C. (2021). Fusion protein EWS-FLI1 is incorporated into a protein granule in cells. RNA, 27(8), 920–932. pdf

Qi, G., Mi, Y., Shi, X., Gu, H., Brinton, R. D., & Yin, F. (2021). ApoE4 impairs neuron-astrocyte coupling of fatty acid metabolism. Cell reports, 34(1), 108572. pdf