Juan C. Saez

Juan C. Sáez is a Visiting Professor at the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. His research focuses on membrane channels (gap junctions and hemichannels) composed of connexins and pannexins, with emphasis on their roles in physiological and pathophysiological processes, particularly inflammation. He investigates how hemichannel opening contributes to tissue dysfunction in chronic inflammatory diseases and seeks therapeutic blockers for these conditions.

Key research areas include the regulation of Cx43 and Pannexin-1 channels in endothelial dysfunction, mast cell degranulation, skeletal muscle pathology, and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. He employs primary cells from nervous/immune systems and exogenous expression systems to study channel dynamics under stress, inflammation, and metabolic disorders (e.g., high glucose conditions).

His recent work highlights the role of pannexin channels in immune cell migration (dendritic cells) and the impact of glucocorticoids on oligodendrocyte inflammasomes. Collaborations span muscle biology (skeletal myofiber apoptosis in dystrophy models) and stress-induced neuroinflammation (hippocampal glial/neuronal hemichannel activation).

Publications emphasize mechanistic insights into channelopathies and translational efforts toward anti-inflammatory therapies. Current projects aim to develop selective channel blockers targeting chronic inflammatory diseases.