Profile

Rafael E. Hernandez, MD, PhD

Rafael E. Hernandez, MD, PhD

Infectious Disease

On staff since July 2014

  • Biography

    Rafael E. Hernandez, MD, PhD, is a member of the Center for Global Infectious Disease Research (CGIDR) at Seattle Children's Research Institute and an acting instructor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, at the University of Washington. He also provides patient care as an attending physician in pediatric infectious diseases at Seattle Children's Hospital.

    He studied biology as an undergraduate at Dartmouth College and then completed a combined MD/PhD program at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He was a pediatrics resident and a fellow in pediatric infectious diseases at Seattle Childrens Hospital. He conducted his fellowship research with Dr. Lalita Ramakrishnan at the University of Washington before joining Seattle Children's Hospital as a principal investigator, focusing on mycobacterial pathogens.

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  • Awards and Honors

    Award Name Award Description Awarded By Award Date
    First place, student poster competition Northwest Regional Developmental Biology Meeting 2006
    Honorable mention student poster competition and student travel award Society for Developmental Biology 2004
    Washington Research Foundation and ARCS Foundation Fellowship 2003 - 2005
    Developmental Biology Training Grant, Competitive Placement 2002 - 2005

  • Publications

    • Cambier CJ, Takaki KK, Larson RP, Hernandez RE, Tobin DM, Urdahl KB, Cosma CL, Ramakrishnan L
      Mycobacteria manipulate macrophage recruitment through coordinated use of membrane lipids.
      24336213 Nature , 2014 Jan. : 505(7482)218-22 PMCID: PMC3961847
    • Feng L | Hernandez RE | Waxman JS | Yelon D | Moens CB
      Dhrs3a regulates retinoic acid biosynthesis through a feedback inhibition mechanism.
      PMC2858591 Developmental biology , 2010 Feb. 1 : 338(1)1-14
    • Hernandez RE, Putzke AP, Myers JP, Margaretha L, Moens CB
      Cyp26 enzymes generate the retinoic acid response pattern necessary for hindbrain development.
      17164423 Development (Cambridge, England) , 2007 Jan. : 134(1)177-87 PMCID: PMC1765950
    • Hernandez RE, Rikhof HA, Bachmann R, Moens CB
      vhnf1 integrates global RA patterning and local FGF signals to direct posterior hindbrain development in zebrafish.
      15342476 Development (Cambridge, England) , 2004 Sept. : 131(18)4511-20
    • Waskiewicz AJ, Rikhof HA, Hernandez RE, Moens CB
      Zebrafish Meis functions to stabilize Pbx proteins and regulate hindbrain patterning
      11684652 Development , 2001 : 128(21)4139-4151
    • Ikegami M | Wada K | Emerson GA | Rebello CM | Hernandez RE | Jobe AH
      Effects of ventilation style on surfactant metabolism and treatment response in preterm lambs.
      American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine , 1998 Feb. : 157(2)638-44
    • Rebello CM | Ikegami M | Hernandez RE | Jobe AH
      Surfactant protein-B and lung function in surfactant-treated preterm lambs.
      Biology of the neonate , 1997 : 71(5)327-36

  • Presentations

    Presentations Title Event Location Date
    A zebrafish model for the role of IL-1 signaling in control of mycobacterial infections NIAID/IDSA Infectious Diseases Research Careers Meeting Bethesda, MD 2013
    The role of IL1 signals and Myd88 in response to mycobacterial infections St Jude/PIDS Pediatric Infectious Diseases Research Conference Memphis, TN 2013
    Topics in Pediatric Tuberculosis House-staff noon teaching conference. Seattle Childrens Hospital 2012 - 2013
    Case presentation: Wound botulism after a childhood scuffle Greater Seattle Microbiology Grand Rounds. Washington State Public Health Laboratory 2012
    Senior Resident Case Presentation: All I want is a sore throat, a case and review of invasive group A Streptococcal infections Seattle Children's Hospital 2011
    An expression based screen to identify targets of retinoic acid signaling during zebrafish embryogenesis Northwest Developmental Biology Conference Friday Harbor, WA 2006
    Retinoic acid establishes posterior hindbrain fates through activation and indirect repression of rhombomere-specific genes 4th European Zebrafish Genetics and Development Meeting Dresden, Germany 2005
    Retinoic acid establishes posterior hindbrain identities through a combination of activation and indirect repression of rhombomere specific genes Society for Developmental Biology Calgary, Canada 2004

Overview

Board Certification(s)

Pediatrics
Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Medical/Professional School

University of Washington, Seattle
University of Washington, Seattle

Residency

Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle

Fellowship

Pediatric Infectious Disease, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle

Research Description

The Hernandez Lab research focuses on understanding the pathogenesis of mycobacteria, including tuberculosis and related bacteria. In particular, he seeks to understand how mycobacteria interact with cells of the immune system to promote their own survival and how this interaction makes the bacteria more difficult to treat with antibiotics. Hernandez also heads the Cystic Fibrosis Isolate Core, which provides CF bacterial isolates to researchers at both academic/not-for-profit and commercial research institutions. The core collection contains thousands of isolates from CF patients. Core services to academic researchers are funded by the NIH as part of the Cystic Fibrosis Research and Translation Center at the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Research Institute.

About My Work

http://www.seattlechildrens.org/research/global-infectious-disease-research/hernandez-lab/