Marcel Vergés – CV date: Oct. 19, 2024

Web links:

https://idibgi.org/personal/marcel-verges-aiguaviva/

https://www.udg.edu/personal/marcel-verges-aiguaviva

Researcher IDs

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID): 0000-0002-2606-223X

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2606-223X

WoS Researcher ID: L-5784-2014

http://www.researcherid.com/rid/L-5784-2014

Scopus Author ID: 6603954505

http://www.scopus.com/inward/authorDetails.url?authorID=6603954505&partnerID=MN8TOARS

Sci. Profiles: 118176

https://sciprofiles.com/profile/118176

Current position

University/Institution: Univ. of Girona (UdG) – Dep. Medical Sciences

Address: Emili Grahit 77 – 2nd fl., 17071 – Girona, Spain

Phone: +34 606 726173

E-mail: marcel.verges@udg.edu; mverges@gencardio.com

Current position: Associate Professor – from 2015

Key words: cardiac arrhythmias; protein trafficking; voltage-gated sodium channel; Na_V1.5; SCN2B

Education

PhD in Biological Sciences, Cum Laude – Univ. of Barcelona (UB) – Year: 1994

Funding

Defining the molecular mechanisms underlying genotype-phenotype relationships in Brugada Syndrome.

Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Madrid)

2022 to 2025

Grant number: PID2021-126721OB-I00

URL: https://www.aei.gob.es/sites/default/files/convocatory_info/2022-10/PRD-PID2021-Texto%2BAnexos_fda.pdf

JCR articles, H-index, thesis supervised…

Indicators & WoS data

• 31 publications; 29 results in PubMed

• 18 PubMed articles as first or senior (corresponding) author:

• 21 publ. in top Quartile and 10 in top Decile, at year of publ.

• 1103 total citations:

• H Index: 15 (ISI Web of Knowledge)

• Average number of citations per article: 39.39

• 4 positive research periods (6-year terms) by AQU – last one, granted on July 11, 2022

Theses supervised:

. Yasmina Cuartero (CIPF - Univ. of Valencia): Función del retromer en el tráfico de beta -secretasa y de la proteína precursora del péptido beta -amiloide en células polarizadas MDCK - 2012 - SobresalienteCum laude - fellowship CIPF PR 01/2007 (2007-2010)

. Eric Cortada (GenCardio, IDIBGI - UdG): Trafficking and function of the voltage-gated sodium channel ß2 subunit - 2020 - Cum laude with International distinction - fellowship AGAUR (Generalitat de Catalunya) 2017 FI_B 00071 (2017-2020); and Extraordinary PhD award in Molecular Biology, Biomedicine and Health by the UdG.

CV SUMMARY

Dr. Verges carried out my doctoral thesis at the Univ. of Barcelona, Spain. Then, he began an extensive and fruitful postdoctoral period at the Univ. of California San Francisco, until returning to Spain, with a Ramón y Cajal contract, as laboratory head at the Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe in Valencia. Currently, He is an Associate Professor at the Univ. of Girona – Dept. of Medical Sciences, teaching mostly at the Medical School. Since 2010, he has been senior researcher in the Cardiovascular Genetics group (GenCardio) of the Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI).

Research by Dr. Verges has focused on protein trafficking in polarized cells. His data have contributed to understanding regulation of the endocytic and transcytosis pathway. Specifically, he dedicated a large part of his research to elucidating the mechanisms by which retromer, an endosomal protein complex, regulates the polarized protein sorting.

At the IDIBGI, he has focused on regulation of voltage-gated sodium (Na_V) channel trafficking, which is of fundamental importance for cardiac function, since alterations of the channel can affect cellular excitability and electrical coupling of the heart. In particular, he focuses on the ß2 subunit of the channel, of which they found a mutation associated with Brugada syndrome (BrS); patients with BrS have cardiac arrhythmia that can lead to sudden death. Their studies have shown the key importance of N-glycosylation of ß2 in its trafficking and in promoting plasma membrane localization of Na_V1.5, the main pore-forming isoform of the cardiac Na_V channel (Cortada et al. J. Biol. Chem. 2019). Also, they have shown that S-palmitoylation of ß2 increases its affinity to cholesterol-rich lipid raft domains and regulates its polarized localization (Cortada et al. J. Cell Sci. 2021). More recently, they have demonstrated the contribution of cytoplasmic tail, extracellular loop, and transmembrane domain of ß2 to its proper trafficking and localization (Cortada et al. J. Biol. Chem. 2024).

Publications in the last 10 years

- Cortada, E., Brugada, R., and Verges, M. Role of protein domains in trafficking and localization of the voltage-gated sodium channel ß2 subunit. J. Biol. Chem. 2024 Sep 27; 300 (11): 11107833

- Trafficking of Cardiac Ion Channels - Mechanisms and Alterations Leading to Disease. April 2021; Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in Biomolecules (Edited by M. Verges); ISBN 978-3-03943-473-2

- Cortada E., Serradesanferm R., Brugada R., and Verges M. The voltage-gated sodium channel ß2 subunit associates with lipid rafts by S-palmitoylation. J Cell Sci. 2021. Mar 26; 134 (6): jcs252189

- Cortada, E. and Verges, M. Na_V1.5 in embryonic heart development. Acta Physiol. (Oxf) 2020 Oct; 230 (2): e13542 (Editorial)

- Cortada, E. and Verges, M. Alterations in ubiquitin-mediated degradation of Na_V1.5 can cause arrhythmia. Acta Physiol. (Oxf) 2020 Jun; 229 (2): e13459 (Editorial)

- Cortada, E., Brugada, R., and Verges, M. Trafficking and function of the voltage-gated sodium channel ß2 subunit. Biomolecules 2019 Oct 13; 9 (10): E604 (Review)

- Cortada, E., Brugada, R., and Verges, M. N-glycosylation of the voltage-gated sodium channel ß2 subunit is required for efficient trafficking of Na_V1.5/ ß2 to the plasma membrane. J. Biol. Chem. 2019 Nov 1; 294 (44): 16123-16140

- Pagans S., and Vergés M. (2017) A mechanism for Na_V1.5 downregulation and sodium current decrease in heart failure. Acta Physiol. (Oxf) 2017 Sep; 221(1): 11-13 (Editorial)

- Dulsat, G.*, Palomeras, S.*, Cortada, E.*, Riuró, H., Brugada, R., and Vergés, M. Trafficking and localisation to the plasma membrane of Na_V1.5 promoted by the ß2 subunit is defective due to a ß2 mutation associated with Brugada syndrome. Biol. Cell 2017 Jul; 109 (7): 273-291                                                                          *equal contribution

- Verges, M. Retromer in polarized protein transport. Int. Rev. Cell Mol. Biol. 2016 Feb; 323 (5): 129-179 (Review)

- Mellado, M., Cuartero, Y., Brugada, R., and Verges, M. Subcellular localization of retromer in postendocytic pathways of polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. Biol. Cell 2014 Nov; 106 (11): 377-393

International publications on teaching research

Tutoring program for first-year university students: an essential approach to reduce dropout rates. 2023-03 | conference-paper DOI: 10.21125/inted.2023.0661

A survey to night-shift nurses analyzed by medical students. 2018-03| conference-paper DOI: 10.21125/inted.2018.0152

Correlation between scores in PBL sessions with those in PBL exams, multiple-choice tests, and the final qualification, in first-year medical students taking an integrative biology module. 2017-03| conference-paper DOI: 10.21125/inted.2017.1846

Other grants in the last years as a PI

- Cardiac arrhythmias: causes and mechanisms; funded by the Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (FECYT), through the crowdfunding platform Precipita (Ref. PR220), 2019/01-2020/03: 2,501.03 €

- Support program for the development of the university professor’s professional career, funded by the UdG (Ref: 32.24.041), 2017/01-2018/11: 1,553 €

- Regulation of trafficking of the cardiac voltage-gated sodium channel, funded by the UdG – Grants to Improve the Scientific Productivity of research groups (Ref: MPCUdG2016), 2016/01-2018/12: 7,500 €

Other research merits

- Guest editor of the Special Issue on Trafficking of Cardiac Ion Channels - Mechanisms and Alterations Leading to Disease, for Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X), MDPI – 2019-2020

- Referee (since 2005): > 30 manuscripts reviewed in Indexed journals, 24 verified by publons (since 2015)

- Reviewer Board Member of MDPI; 10 manuscripts reviewed in MDPI journals

- External Evaluator (since 2009): ANEP (MICINN, Spain), FONCyT (MINCyT, Argentina), European Research Council (EU), ACSUCYL (Castilla y León), and French National Research Agency (ANR, France).

- Member of selection committees for the UdG Teaching and Research Staff (since 2011)

- Member of Thesis (since 2009) & Master’s Committees (since 2016)