Each year, urinary tract infections (UTI) affect 150 million people worldwide. In the United States, they account for 7 million annual office visits and over $1.6 billion in health care spending. Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) initiates more than 80% of UTI by colonizing the bladder. When UPEC ascends to the kidneys, the resulting acute pyelonephritis can lead to acute kidney injury, renal scarring, and ultimately end-stage renal disease. The Ruiz-Rosado Lab focuses on uncovering the exact process by which the body fights off UTI, work that is foundational to establishing new therapies to prevent and treat UTI in children. Its team is exploring the role monocytes and neutrophils play in this process. Notably, the Ruiz-Rosado Lab has found monocytes and neutrophils play distinct roles in the body’s resistance to E. coli-caused UTI. While neutrophils directly engulf and eliminate E. coli in the bladder and kidneys, monocytes promote inflammation in these organs to increase the anti-microbial activity of these neutrophils. However, exacerbated monocyte infiltration during kidney infection promotes uncontrolled inflammation and renal scarring. Further, the team discovered this monocyte-induced inflammation also results in impaired kidney function. The long-term goal of the Ruiz-Rosado Lab is to exploit the biological functions of neutrophils and macrophages to advance the rational design of a new class of non-antibiotic therapies to resolve UTI and prevent permanent renal damage following pyelonephritis. Lab Staff
Juan de Dios Ruiz-Rosado, PhD Postdoctoral Research Scientist JuandeDios.RuizRosado@NationwideChildrens.org Juan de Dios Ruiz-Rosado, PhD, is a Principal Investigator in the Kidney and Urinary Tract Research Center in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University. He is also an affiliate member of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Nationwide Children’s. The Ruiz-Rosado Lab focuses on identifying novel innate and adaptive immune responses required for resistance to urinary tract infections (UTI). Dr. Ruiz-Rosado’s research focuses on defining the anti-microbial mechanisms employed by neutrophils that eliminate Uropathogenic Escherichia coli. He also studies the inflammatory and pro-fibrotic responses elicited by macrophages during pyelonephritis and kidney injury. Dr. Ruiz-Rosado’s long-term goal is to develop non-antibiotic-based strategies to treat UTI and prevent deleterious renal scarring in pediatric patients with UTI. Dr. Ruiz-Rosado has served as a mentor for trainees at a variety of levels, including undergraduate, graduate, medical and postdoctoral students. He earned his doctorate in Immunology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Yuriko Sanchez-Zamora, PhD Senior Research Associate Yuriko.Sanchez-Zamora@NationwideChildrens.org Dr. Yuriko Sanchez-Zamora is a Senior Research Associate in the Ruiz-Rosado Lab. She earned her BS from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She also received her PhD in immunology at UNAM. Her PhD work focused on investigating the influence of the innate immune system in the development of type 1 and type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. She also correlated the presence of inflammatory immune responses with metabolic syndrome and genetic variations of HBGAs in the Mexican population. As a Senior Scientist in the Ruiz-Rosado Lab, Dr. Sanchez-Zamora focuses on investigating the influence of diabetes and obesity in the anti-microbial capacity of immune phagocytes, including neutrophils and macrophages, in experimental models of urinary tract infection (UTI). Dr. Sanchez-Zamora’s research will uncover new targets for therapeutic strategies to prevent the development of severe UTI in susceptible diabetic patients.
Gregory Ballash, DVM, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Gregory.Ballash@NationwideChildrens.org Greg Ballash, DVM, PhD, joined the Becknell and Ruiz-Rosado labs at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2021. As part of his postdoctoral training, Dr. Ballash will investigate the regulatory role of microRNAs during cystitis and pyelonephritis and utilize spatial transcriptomics to characterize the pathogenic mechanisms that underly pyelonephritis. Dr. Ballash is from Northeast Ohio. He received his bachelor’s degree from Baldwin-Wallace College before continuing his education and training at The Ohio State University, where he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Master of Public Health and doctorate degrees. His doctorate research associated patient epidemiology with bacterial genomics to understand host and pathogen factors that increase the risk of sporadic and/or recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI). During this time, he completed an anatomic pathology residency at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Israel Cotzomi-Ortega, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Israel.Cotzomi@NationwideChildrens.org Currently, as a postdoctoral researcher, Israel Cotzomi-Ortega, PhD, is studying the functional contribution of the NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) to the microbicidal capacity of neutrophils in vivo and in vitro. He is also evaluating the functional phenotypes and transcriptomes of macrophages during experimental urinary tract infection (UTI) by single-cell RNA-seq. He has also worked to elucidate the roles of immune phagocytes during experimental pyelonephritis induced by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli). Dr. Cotzomi-Ortega earned both his bachelor’s degree and doctorate in Chemistry Sciences from Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) in Puebla, Mexico. His doctorate work focused on the role of autophagy in macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) secretion during breast cancer progression.
Each year, urinary tract infections (UTI) affect 150 million people worldwide. In the United States, they account for 7 million annual office visits and over $1.6 billion in health care spending. Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) initiates more than 80% of UTI by colonizing the bladder. When UPEC ascends to the kidneys, the resulting acute pyelonephritis can lead to acute kidney injury, renal scarring, and ultimately end-stage renal disease.
The Ruiz-Rosado Lab focuses on uncovering the exact process by which the body fights off UTI, work that is foundational to establishing new therapies to prevent and treat UTI in children. Its team is exploring the role monocytes and neutrophils play in this process. Notably, the Ruiz-Rosado Lab has found monocytes and neutrophils play distinct roles in the body’s resistance to E. coli-caused UTI. While neutrophils directly engulf and eliminate E. coli in the bladder and kidneys, monocytes promote inflammation in these organs to increase the anti-microbial activity of these neutrophils. However, exacerbated monocyte infiltration during kidney infection promotes uncontrolled inflammation and renal scarring. Further, the team discovered this monocyte-induced inflammation also results in impaired kidney function.
The long-term goal of the Ruiz-Rosado Lab is to exploit the biological functions of neutrophils and macrophages to advance the rational design of a new class of non-antibiotic therapies to resolve UTI and prevent permanent renal damage following pyelonephritis.
Lab Staff
Juan de Dios Ruiz-Rosado, PhD Postdoctoral Research Scientist JuandeDios.RuizRosado@NationwideChildrens.org Juan de Dios Ruiz-Rosado, PhD, is a Principal Investigator in the Kidney and Urinary Tract Research Center in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University. He is also an affiliate member of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Nationwide Children’s. The Ruiz-Rosado Lab focuses on identifying novel innate and adaptive immune responses required for resistance to urinary tract infections (UTI). Dr. Ruiz-Rosado’s research focuses on defining the anti-microbial mechanisms employed by neutrophils that eliminate Uropathogenic Escherichia coli. He also studies the inflammatory and pro-fibrotic responses elicited by macrophages during pyelonephritis and kidney injury. Dr. Ruiz-Rosado’s long-term goal is to develop non-antibiotic-based strategies to treat UTI and prevent deleterious renal scarring in pediatric patients with UTI. Dr. Ruiz-Rosado has served as a mentor for trainees at a variety of levels, including undergraduate, graduate, medical and postdoctoral students. He earned his doctorate in Immunology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Yuriko Sanchez-Zamora, PhD Senior Research Associate Yuriko.Sanchez-Zamora@NationwideChildrens.org Dr. Yuriko Sanchez-Zamora is a Senior Research Associate in the Ruiz-Rosado Lab. She earned her BS from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She also received her PhD in immunology at UNAM. Her PhD work focused on investigating the influence of the innate immune system in the development of type 1 and type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. She also correlated the presence of inflammatory immune responses with metabolic syndrome and genetic variations of HBGAs in the Mexican population. As a Senior Scientist in the Ruiz-Rosado Lab, Dr. Sanchez-Zamora focuses on investigating the influence of diabetes and obesity in the anti-microbial capacity of immune phagocytes, including neutrophils and macrophages, in experimental models of urinary tract infection (UTI). Dr. Sanchez-Zamora’s research will uncover new targets for therapeutic strategies to prevent the development of severe UTI in susceptible diabetic patients.
Gregory Ballash, DVM, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Gregory.Ballash@NationwideChildrens.org Greg Ballash, DVM, PhD, joined the Becknell and Ruiz-Rosado labs at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2021. As part of his postdoctoral training, Dr. Ballash will investigate the regulatory role of microRNAs during cystitis and pyelonephritis and utilize spatial transcriptomics to characterize the pathogenic mechanisms that underly pyelonephritis. Dr. Ballash is from Northeast Ohio. He received his bachelor’s degree from Baldwin-Wallace College before continuing his education and training at The Ohio State University, where he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Master of Public Health and doctorate degrees. His doctorate research associated patient epidemiology with bacterial genomics to understand host and pathogen factors that increase the risk of sporadic and/or recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI). During this time, he completed an anatomic pathology residency at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Israel Cotzomi-Ortega, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Israel.Cotzomi@NationwideChildrens.org Currently, as a postdoctoral researcher, Israel Cotzomi-Ortega, PhD, is studying the functional contribution of the NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) to the microbicidal capacity of neutrophils in vivo and in vitro. He is also evaluating the functional phenotypes and transcriptomes of macrophages during experimental urinary tract infection (UTI) by single-cell RNA-seq. He has also worked to elucidate the roles of immune phagocytes during experimental pyelonephritis induced by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli). Dr. Cotzomi-Ortega earned both his bachelor’s degree and doctorate in Chemistry Sciences from Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) in Puebla, Mexico. His doctorate work focused on the role of autophagy in macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) secretion during breast cancer progression.
Juan de Dios Ruiz-Rosado, PhD Postdoctoral Research Scientist JuandeDios.RuizRosado@NationwideChildrens.org Juan de Dios Ruiz-Rosado, PhD, is a Principal Investigator in the Kidney and Urinary Tract Research Center in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University. He is also an affiliate member of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Nationwide Children’s. The Ruiz-Rosado Lab focuses on identifying novel innate and adaptive immune responses required for resistance to urinary tract infections (UTI). Dr. Ruiz-Rosado’s research focuses on defining the anti-microbial mechanisms employed by neutrophils that eliminate Uropathogenic Escherichia coli. He also studies the inflammatory and pro-fibrotic responses elicited by macrophages during pyelonephritis and kidney injury. Dr. Ruiz-Rosado’s long-term goal is to develop non-antibiotic-based strategies to treat UTI and prevent deleterious renal scarring in pediatric patients with UTI. Dr. Ruiz-Rosado has served as a mentor for trainees at a variety of levels, including undergraduate, graduate, medical and postdoctoral students. He earned his doctorate in Immunology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Juan de Dios Ruiz-Rosado, PhD Postdoctoral Research Scientist JuandeDios.RuizRosado@NationwideChildrens.org
Juan de Dios Ruiz-Rosado, PhD, is a Principal Investigator in the Kidney and Urinary Tract Research Center in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University. He is also an affiliate member of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Nationwide Children’s.
The Ruiz-Rosado Lab focuses on identifying novel innate and adaptive immune responses required for resistance to urinary tract infections (UTI). Dr. Ruiz-Rosado’s research focuses on defining the anti-microbial mechanisms employed by neutrophils that eliminate Uropathogenic Escherichia coli. He also studies the inflammatory and pro-fibrotic responses elicited by macrophages during pyelonephritis and kidney injury. Dr. Ruiz-Rosado’s long-term goal is to develop non-antibiotic-based strategies to treat UTI and prevent deleterious renal scarring in pediatric patients with UTI.
Dr. Ruiz-Rosado has served as a mentor for trainees at a variety of levels, including undergraduate, graduate, medical and postdoctoral students. He earned his doctorate in Immunology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
Yuriko Sanchez-Zamora, PhD Senior Research Associate Yuriko.Sanchez-Zamora@NationwideChildrens.org Dr. Yuriko Sanchez-Zamora is a Senior Research Associate in the Ruiz-Rosado Lab. She earned her BS from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She also received her PhD in immunology at UNAM. Her PhD work focused on investigating the influence of the innate immune system in the development of type 1 and type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. She also correlated the presence of inflammatory immune responses with metabolic syndrome and genetic variations of HBGAs in the Mexican population. As a Senior Scientist in the Ruiz-Rosado Lab, Dr. Sanchez-Zamora focuses on investigating the influence of diabetes and obesity in the anti-microbial capacity of immune phagocytes, including neutrophils and macrophages, in experimental models of urinary tract infection (UTI). Dr. Sanchez-Zamora’s research will uncover new targets for therapeutic strategies to prevent the development of severe UTI in susceptible diabetic patients.
Yuriko Sanchez-Zamora, PhD Senior Research Associate Yuriko.Sanchez-Zamora@NationwideChildrens.org
Dr. Yuriko Sanchez-Zamora is a Senior Research Associate in the Ruiz-Rosado Lab. She earned her BS from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She also received her PhD in immunology at UNAM. Her PhD work focused on investigating the influence of the innate immune system in the development of type 1 and type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. She also correlated the presence of inflammatory immune responses with metabolic syndrome and genetic variations of HBGAs in the Mexican population. As a Senior Scientist in the Ruiz-Rosado Lab, Dr. Sanchez-Zamora focuses on investigating the influence of diabetes and obesity in the anti-microbial capacity of immune phagocytes, including neutrophils and macrophages, in experimental models of urinary tract infection (UTI). Dr. Sanchez-Zamora’s research will uncover new targets for therapeutic strategies to prevent the development of severe UTI in susceptible diabetic patients.
Gregory Ballash, DVM, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Gregory.Ballash@NationwideChildrens.org Greg Ballash, DVM, PhD, joined the Becknell and Ruiz-Rosado labs at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2021. As part of his postdoctoral training, Dr. Ballash will investigate the regulatory role of microRNAs during cystitis and pyelonephritis and utilize spatial transcriptomics to characterize the pathogenic mechanisms that underly pyelonephritis. Dr. Ballash is from Northeast Ohio. He received his bachelor’s degree from Baldwin-Wallace College before continuing his education and training at The Ohio State University, where he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Master of Public Health and doctorate degrees. His doctorate research associated patient epidemiology with bacterial genomics to understand host and pathogen factors that increase the risk of sporadic and/or recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI). During this time, he completed an anatomic pathology residency at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Gregory Ballash, DVM, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Gregory.Ballash@NationwideChildrens.org
Greg Ballash, DVM, PhD, joined the Becknell and Ruiz-Rosado labs at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in 2021. As part of his postdoctoral training, Dr. Ballash will investigate the regulatory role of microRNAs during cystitis and pyelonephritis and utilize spatial transcriptomics to characterize the pathogenic mechanisms that underly pyelonephritis.
Dr. Ballash is from Northeast Ohio. He received his bachelor’s degree from Baldwin-Wallace College before continuing his education and training at The Ohio State University, where he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Master of Public Health and doctorate degrees. His doctorate research associated patient epidemiology with bacterial genomics to understand host and pathogen factors that increase the risk of sporadic and/or recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI). During this time, he completed an anatomic pathology residency at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Israel Cotzomi-Ortega, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Israel.Cotzomi@NationwideChildrens.org Currently, as a postdoctoral researcher, Israel Cotzomi-Ortega, PhD, is studying the functional contribution of the NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) to the microbicidal capacity of neutrophils in vivo and in vitro. He is also evaluating the functional phenotypes and transcriptomes of macrophages during experimental urinary tract infection (UTI) by single-cell RNA-seq. He has also worked to elucidate the roles of immune phagocytes during experimental pyelonephritis induced by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli). Dr. Cotzomi-Ortega earned both his bachelor’s degree and doctorate in Chemistry Sciences from Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) in Puebla, Mexico. His doctorate work focused on the role of autophagy in macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) secretion during breast cancer progression.
Israel Cotzomi-Ortega, PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Israel.Cotzomi@NationwideChildrens.org
Currently, as a postdoctoral researcher, Israel Cotzomi-Ortega, PhD, is studying the functional contribution of the NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) to the microbicidal capacity of neutrophils in vivo and in vitro. He is also evaluating the functional phenotypes and transcriptomes of macrophages during experimental urinary tract infection (UTI) by single-cell RNA-seq. He has also worked to elucidate the roles of immune phagocytes during experimental pyelonephritis induced by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli).
Dr. Cotzomi-Ortega earned both his bachelor’s degree and doctorate in Chemistry Sciences from Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) in Puebla, Mexico. His doctorate work focused on the role of autophagy in macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) secretion during breast cancer progression.
