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Who is Michael Romero?

 

Michael Romero was born in Atlanta, Georgia on October 15, 1963. I have always been interested in “how” things work and are put together. I cannot remember a time when I was not interested in science. As a child in Georgia, my favorite activities were exploring the nearby woods with my friends, pretending to be a superhero, and playing with my chemistry set in the basement. Strangely, even before I started school, I knew that when I grew up I would be wearing a lab coat and “running around” a “lab.” This was particularly odd, because no one in my family had been to college or even been associated with a lab or a doctor’s office. My family did always encourage me to be the best I could at whatever I did.

After a several year separation, my parents got back together when my father took over as the Chief Controller at the Cincinnati Airport just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. I was sad to leave my friends, my school, my soccer team, my scout troop, the South, and the only home I had known. We moved to Northern Kentucky, and I was told I would attend an all boys, Catholic high school, Covington Latin School (CLS). My first day at CLS, I wore my white jeans and matching vest, as any “good” Southern boy might do. What a shock I got! I and my clothes stood out. My new high school did not offer many science classes, but we had lots of history, English literature, Latin, German, and public speaking. I joined the Debate team (we won 3rd in the State competition) and found a love of public speaking. My hard work paid off when I was awarded several academic scholarships as well as an acting scholarship to College. At graduation (age 16) I was also given the Oratory Award.

What to Study?
Literature and languages are fun, but my real love was science. I accepted an academic scholarship to Thomas More College, a somewhat small commuter college, so I could live at home. My science quest began by majoring in both Biology and Chemistry, though Physics and Mathematics were sometimes more appealing. I took lots of Math classes for fun! Medicine seemed like a good profession to apply my science knowledge, so I was particularly interested in anatomy and developmental biology. Ironically, I did not like my Physiology class in college. In fact, I though that it was a complete waste of time. The summer of ’82, I participated in a Health Careers Opportunity Program for Minorities (I’m Hispanic) at the University of Kentucky. It was fun, but I was not very excited by it. The summer of ’83, I participated in a Summer Undergraduate Research Program in Biochemistry at the University of Louisville Medical School. WOW! The work was cool and I was in my element, though I was filling out Medical School applications.

Over that Christmas I saw an advertisement for Graduate studies in Developmental Genetics and Anatomy at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. A friend of mine from high school and college was currently a student in the program; he loved it. So I applied. I was so “science naive” that in my application and interview I did not think to mention my work at the University of Louisville. CWRU accepted me, so off I went to learn everything I could about developmental neurobiology, or so I thought. After four years at Thomas More College, I graduated with degrees in Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics.

Initially I could not work in one of the neurobiology or development labs, so I decided to do a research rotation with the Graduate advisor, Dr. Ulrich Hopfer. Dr. Hopfer had received his MD from Germany and a PhD with Dr. Albert Lehninger in Biochemistry at The Johns Hopkins University. The laboratory studied salt and glucose absorption by the intestine and kidney. Part of the lab used electricity to study these processes. I found my love and talent; physiology, not development was my path. My thesis work was to determine the transport processes in kidney epithelial cells stimulated by a hormone, angiotensin II. During that time, we also developed a new method for making cell lines. In 1986 our lab moved to the newly formed Department of Physiology & Biophysics, though I was now a student in Genetics. In 1991 I got my PhD.

This was an exciting time in physiology because other labs were using the “new” molecular biology techniques to clone cDNAs for transporter and channel proteins. During my graduate school time, the band 3 anion exchanger, the sodium glucose cotransporter, and the CFTR Cl- channel cDNAs were cloned. I knew that I needed additional training as a postdoctoral fellow. This meant working in the laboratory of another senior scientist. I also knew that I needed to learn molecular biology and try to clone something myself. I chose to work with Dr. Walter Boron in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Yale University. My project was to clone the transporter protein cDNA from the kidney responsible for absorbing baking soda, i.e., sodium bicarbonate. We were successful and the resulting clone, NBC1, was recently shown to be mutated in certain types of kidney and eye disease. Best of all I got to work in the lab as much as I wanted, sometimes with a white lab coat, and made lots of new friends in Conneticut as well as in Boston where our collaborators worked.

Heading Out on My Own
My next step was to start my own research laboratory. I moved back to CWRU, this time officially in Physiology & Biophysics and as an Assistant Professor. So in September 1997, I moved to Cleveland with my new bride – also a physiologist. In 1998 I also joined the CWRU Pharmacology Department. It is still hard to believe that I am now a Medical School professor.

I teach Medical, Dental and Graduate students about the kidney and how it functions. My first PhD student graduated in April 2001. We are having fun and always learning new aspects of Physiology.

Michael Romero (left) and his lab

I also serve on the APS Education committee, Am. J. Physiology editorial boards, and an American Heart Association study section.

Free Time
I have always enjoyed playing sports, going to movies and concerts. My biggest joy now is spending time with my 2 daughters, chasing them around the house or yard, and watching them grow and learn things for the first time. I also love to cook. However, the kids would much rather have spaghetti than peppered chicken sautéed in a white wine cream sauce with grapes over curried rice with apples. Time permitting, my wife and I enjoy cycling and wilderness camping trips.

Advice to Undergraduates
Physiology is always changing and I love that. Students considering a career in Physiology should make sure to have a background in math, physics, chemistry, and literature. With the basics behind you, study what you love. It may happen that in the future, another topic is more exciting to you so keep your eyes open.

Now that several animal and plant genomes have been sequenced, it is the job of the physiologists to determine what these genes and proteins do. After all, physiology is the study of function. Now is a wonderful and exciting time to be a Physiologist.

Representative Publications
1. Gorodeski, G.I., U. Hopfer, R.L. Eckert, W.H. Utian, B.J. De Santis, E.A. Rorke, and M.F. Romero. Extracellular ATP decreases accutely and reversibly transepithelial transport through the paracellular pathway in human uterine cervical cells. Am J Physiol 266: C1692-C1698, 1994.

2. Romero, M.F., M.A. Hediger, E.L. Boulpaep, and W.F. Boron. Expression cloning and characterization of a renal electrogenic Na+/HCO–3 cotransporter. Nature 387: 409-413, 1997.

3. Nakhoul, N.L., B.A. Davis, M.F. Romero, and W.F. Boron. Effect of expressing the water channel aquaporin-1 on the CO2 permeability of Xenopus oocytes. Am. J. Physiol. 274: C543-C548, 1998.

4. Romero, M.F., P. Fong, U.V. Berger, M.A. Hediger, and W.F. Boron. Cloning and functional expression of rNBC, an electrogenic Na+-HCO–3 cotransporter from rat kidney. Am. J. Physiol. 274: F425-F432, 1998.

5. Schmitt, B.M., D. Biemesderfer, E.L. Boulpaep, M.F. Romero, and W.F. Boron. Immunolocalization of the Electrogenic Na+/ HCO–3 Cotransporter in Mammalian and Amphibian Kidney. Am. J. Physiol. 276: F27-F36, 1999.

6. Choi, I., M.F. Romero, N. Khandoudi, A. Bril, and W.F. Boron. Cloning and characterization of an electrogenic Na/HCO3 cotransporter isoform from human heart (hhNBC). Am. J. Physiol. 276: C576-C584, 1999.

7. Sciortino, C.M., and M.F. Romero. Cation and voltage dependence of the rat kidney, electrogenic Na+/HCO–3 cotransporter, rkNBC, expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Am. J. Physiol. 277: F611-F623, 1999.

8. Roussa, E., M.F. Romero, B.M. Schmitt, W.F. Boron, S.L. Alper, and F. Thévenod. Immunolocalization of AE2 anion exchanger and Na+-HCO3- cotransporter in rat parotid and submandibular glands. Am. J. Physiol. 277: G1288-G1296, 1999.

9. Bevensee, M.O., B.M. Schmitt, I. Choi, M.F. Romero, and W.F. Boron. An electrogenic Na/HCO3 cotransporter (NBC) with a novel C terminus, cloned from rat brain. Am. J. Physiol. 278:C1200-C1211, 2000.

10. Sciortino, C.M., L.D. Shrode, B.R. Fletcher, P.J. Harte, and M.F. Romero. Localization of Endogenous and Recombinant Na+-driven Anion Exchanger Protein, NDAE1, from Drosophila melanogaster. Am. J. Physiol. 281: C449-C463, 2001 + Cover art.