Shane L. Rea, Assistant Professor- Barshop Institute & Dept. Physiology

Room:	STCBM 2.200.04
Phone:	210-562-5092
Email:	reas3@uthscsa.edu
Web Page(s):	http://barshopinstitute.uthscsa.edu/main/facultystaff/barshopfaculty/u133
Education:	B.Sc.(Hons.) University of Queensland Ph.D., University of Queensland
Post Doctoral:	McGill University University of Colorado (Boulder)
Awards and Academic Honors:	2006 Excellence In Science for Post-Doctoral Research, (sponsored by AAAS & UC Boulder) 2001-2003 Post-doctoral Fellowship, Polis Foundation 1995-1997 Postgraduate Research Scholarship, University of Queensland

Research Interest:

The Rea lab studies the fundamental mechanisms of aging. It makes use of various model organisms including the nematode C. elegans and the yeast S. cerevisiae. The primary focus of the group is on a class of long-lived mutants of C. elegans called the Mitochondrial (Mit) mutants. These animals contain mutations in their mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) that paradoxically lengthen life. Life extension following ETC disruption has also been observed in other species, including mice. Using novel GC-MS based techniques to map the exometabolism of Mit mutants, the Rea lab recently discovered that these animals uniquely generate several metabolic end products that appear to act as signaling molecules in their own right. In fact, these molecules are closely related to another group of signaling molecules in humans called oncometabolites that target enzymes belonging to the alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent hydoxylase family and are involved in the etiology of some cancers. Currently the Rea lab uses a variety of techniques that span chemistry, biochemistry and genetics, to explore how the unique metabolic profile of Mit mutants lead to their life extension.

GC-MS Metabolomics identifies a novel alpha-ketoacid signature present in Mit mutants.	Model depicting etiology of events leading to life extension in the C. elegans Mit mutants.

Selected publications:

• A metabolic signature for long-life in the C. elegans Mit mutants.
  Butler JA, Mishur RJ, Bhaskaran S, Rea SL
  Aging Cell: 2012-11-22; ();     Epub: 2012-11-22.
  PMID: 23173729    LINK:
• Profiling the anaerobic response of C. elegans using GC-MS.
  Butler JA, Mishur RJ, Bokov AF, Hakala KW, Weintraub ST, Rea SL
  PLoS One: 2012-09-27; 7(9); e46140     Epub: 2012-09-27.
  PMID: 23029411    LINK:
• Applications of mass spectrometry to metabolomics and metabonomics: detection of biomarkers of aging and of age-related diseases.
  Mishur RJ, Rea SL
  Mass Spectrom Rev: 2011-04-28; 31(1); 70-95     Epub: 2011-04-28.
  PMID: 21538458    LINK:
• Relationship between mitochondrial electron transport chain dysfunction, development, and life extension in Caenorhabditis elegans.
  Rea SL, Ventura N, Johnson TE
  PLoS Biol: 2007-10-02; 5(10); e259
  PMID: 17914900    LINK:
• A stress-sensitive reporter predicts longevity in isogenic populations of Caenorhabditis elegans.
  Rea SL, Wu D, Cypser JR, Vaupel JW, Johnson TE
  Nat Genet: 2005-08-01; 37(8); 894-8     Epub: 2005-07-24.
  PMID: 16041374    LINK:

Complete Publication Listing