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Walss-Bass, Consuelo PhD

School of Medicine
Psychiatry
(210) 562-4050
walss@uthscsa.edu

Consuelo Walss-Bass, Ph.D. received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the Instituto Tecnologico de la Laguna, Torreon, Mexico. She went on to receive a Masters of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Texas at San Antonio and then earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in biochemistry from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). Afterwards she trained in psychiatric genetics at the UTHSCSA. In 2005 she joined the faculty in the Division of Genetics in the UTHSCSA Dept. of Psychiatry, where she is currently the Director of the Functional Genomics Program.

Dr. Walss-Bass research focuses on the understanding of psychiatric disorders at the molecular level. She utilizes genomic and proteomic techniques in human and animal models to correlate genetic variations with cellular function in order to understand the molecular mechanisms that are involved in development and expression of mental illnesses. In addition, Dr. Walss-Bass is interested in the study of the mechanism of action of antipsychotic medications, as it may lead to an understanding of the cellular processes involved in psychotic disorders. Dr. Walss-Bass has received research awards by the NIH, the Stanley Medical Research Institute and NARSAD: The mental health research association.

Dr. Walss-Bass is also actively involved in teaching endeavors. She is currently a credentialed member of the UTHSCSA Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and is a mentoring faculty in the tracks of Genetics, Genomics and Development, Neuroscience, and Cell and Molecular Biology. She has mentored a number of undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students that have worked in her laboratory. In particular, Dr. Walss-Bass is strongly committed to recruiting Hispanic students such as herself and has an emerging national image as a cultural role model in facilitating transfer of knowledge to students from Latin American countries.

Finally, Dr. Walss-Bass is strongly committed to educating the community on the biological causes of mental disorders, to reduce the stigma associated with these illnesses. She believes that putting a biological face onto these disorders will help the community at large in viewing these disorders as they do cancer or diabetes.

Appointments Education Expertise Teaching Publications Grants

9/2011 - Present	Associate Professor	UTHSCSA, Psychiatry, San Antonio, TX
6/2010 - Present	Director, Functional Genomics Program	UTHSCSA, Psychiatry, San Antonio, TX

Journal Article

Marballi K, Cruz D, Thompson P, Walss-Bass C. Differential neuregulin 1 cleavage in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: preliminary findings PLOS One 2012 May;7(5):1-10.

Baig MR, Navaira E, Escamilla MA, Raventos H, Walss-Bass C. Clozapine Treatment Causes Oxidation of Proteins Involved in Energy Metabolism in Lymphoblastoid Cells:A Possible Mechanism for Antipsychotic-Induced Metabolic Alterations Journal of Psychiatric Practice 2010 Sep;.

Guo J, Walss-Bass C, Luduea RF. The beta isotypes of tubulin in neuronal differentiation Cytoskeleton (Hoboken) 2010 Jul;67(7):431-441.

Contreras J, Hernndez S, Quezada P, Dassori A, Walss-Bass C, Escamilla M, Raventos H. Association of serotonin transporter promoter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) with depression in Costa Rican schizophrenic patients J Neurogenet 2010 Jul;24(2):83-89.

Marballi K, Quinones MP, Jimenez F, Escamilla MA, Ravents H, Soto-Bernardini MC, Ahuja SS, Walss-Bass C. *Equal contribution as first authors. In vivo and in vitro genetic evidence of involvement of neuregulin 1 in immune system dysregulation J Mol Med 2010 Jul;88(11):1133-1141.

Matsuo K, Walss-Bass C, Nery FG, Nicoletti MA, Hatch JP, Frey BN, Monkul ES, Zunta-Soares GB, Bowden CL, Escamilla MA, Soares JC. Neuronal Correlates of Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor Val66Met Polymorphism and Morphometric Abnormalities in Bipolar Disorder Neuropsychopharmacology 2009 Jul;34(8):1904-1913.

Walss-Bass C, Soto-Bernardini MC, Johnson-Pais T, Leach RJ, Ontiveros A, Nicolini H, Mendoza R, Jerez A, Dassori A, Chavarria-Siles I, Escamilla MA, Raventos H. Methionine sulfoxide reductase: a novel schizophrenia candidate gene Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 2009 Mar;150B(2):219-225.

Escamilla M, Lee BD, Ontiveros A, Raventos H, Nicolini H, Mendoza R, Jerez A, Munoz R, Medina R, Figueroa A, Walss-Bass C, Armas R, Contreras S, Ramirez ME, Dassori A. The epsin 4 gene is associated with psychotic disorders in families of Latin American origin Schizophr Res 2008 Dec;106(2-3):253-257.

Walss-Bass C, Weintraub SE, Hatch JP, Mintz J, Chaudhuri AR. Clozapine causes oxidation of proteins involved in energy metabolism: a possible mechanism for antipsychotic-induced metabolic alterations Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2008 Dec;11(8):1097-1104.

Chavarria-Siles I, Contreras-Rojas J, Hare E, Walss-Bass C, Quezada P, Dassori A, Contreras S, Medina RA, Ramirez M, Salazar R, Raventos H, Escamilla M. Cannabinoid Receptor 1 Gene (CNR1) and Susceptibility to a Quantitative Phenotype for Hebephrenic Schizophrenia American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B (Neuropsychiatric Genetics) 2008 Apr;147B(3):279-284.

Frey BN, Walss-Bass C, Stanley JA, Nery FG, Matsuo K, Nicoletti MA, Hatch JP, Bowden CL, Escamilla MA, Soares JC. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor val66met polymorphism affects prefrontal energy metabolism in bipolar disorder Neuroreport 2007 Oct;18(15):1567-1570.

Abstract

Muhammad B, Joe P, Corena-Mcleod M, Richelson E, Walss-Bass C. Effects of antipsychotics and mood stabilizers on mitochondria morphology; 2009 Dec. (American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Annual Conference).

McClure, R.K., Walss-Bass C, Nicoletti, M., Nery, F.G., Matsuo, K., Zunta-Soares,G., Hatch JP, Olvera RL, Escamilla MA, Soares, J.C. Association of NRG1 snp rs3924999 with Lifetime History of Psychosis and Decreased Anterior Cingulate Grey Matter Volume in Bipolar Disorder; 2009 Apr. (Biological Psychiatry; vol. 64, no. 8).

Walss-Bass C, Chavarria-Siles I, Perez-Cavazos B, Escamilla MA and Raventos H. Differential protein phosphorylation in lymphoblastoid cell lines of carriers of a neuregulin 1 schizophrenia-associated transmembrane mutation; 2008 Dec. (American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Annual Conference).

Joseph, MF, Youngstrom, EA, Caetano, S, Hatch JP, Olvera RL, Walss-Bass C, Nicoletti, M, Pliszka SR, Escamilla MA, Soares, JC. Possible Interaction Among BDNF Genotype, Family Environment, and Brain N-Acetyl-Aspartate Levels in Pediatric Bipolar Disorder: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; 2008 Oct. (Scientific Proceedings of the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry).

Walss-Bass C, Weintraub SE, Hatch JP, Mintz J, Chaudhuri AR. Clozapine treatment causes oxidation of proteins involved in energy metabolism: a possible mechanism for antipsychotic-induced metabolic alterations; 2008 Mar. (American Society for Neurochemistry-39th Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX).

Federal
Funding Agency	Fogarty-NIMH
Title	U.S./Costa Rica Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Training Program
Status	Active
Period	8/2009 - 7/2014
Role	Co-Investigator
Grant Detail	Train graduate students from Costa Rica in neuropsychiatric genetics PI 2009-2011, consultant 2011-current
Funding Agency	NIH
Title	Immune System & Genetic Modulation of Brain Development & Behavior in Adolescence
Status	Active
Period	9/2009 - 5/2014
Role	Principal Investigator
Grant Detail	This study will investigate the role that inflammatory markers, as modulated by genetic make-up, play on regulation of functional and structural brain systems and behavior across the adolescent developmental period, prior to onset of psychiatric disorders.
Funding Agency	NIH/NIMH
Title	Correlation of Allelic Variations with Gene Function Alterations in Schizophrenia
Status	Active
Period	2/2008 - 12/2012
Role	Principal Investigator
Grant Detail	To establish the biological functionality of schizophrenia-associated genetic variations.
Funding Agency	NIH/NIAAA
Title	Affective and Neurobiological Predictors of Adolescent-Onset Alcohol Use Disorder
Status	Active
Period	4/2006 - 3/2011
Role	Co-Investigator
Grant Detail	The purpose of this project is to examine risk factors involved in the development of alcohol use disorders in adolescents and how preexisting risk for depression moderate these disorders.
Private
Funding Agency	Department of Psychiatry, UTHSCSA
Title	Inflammation and Microglial Activation in Bipolar Disorder
Status	Active
Period	9/2009 - 8/2010
Role	Co-Investigator
Grant Detail	This study examines the effects of microglia as contributors to the inflammatory response and oxidative stress pathways in the postmortem brains of bipolar subjects. Due to the limited availability of postmortem human brain tissue, these studies will provide critical information in the understanding of immune and oxidative stress pathways in the neuropathophysiology of bipolar disorder.
Funding Agency	The Stanley Medical Research Institute
Title	Identification of Infectious Agents as Biological Markers in Schizophrenia: Gene-Environment Interactions in a Hispanic Founder Population
Status	Complete
Period	8/2007 - 8/2010
Role	Principal Investigator
Grant Detail	The proposed research will identify environmental factors associated with schizophrenia in the Costa Rican population. These studies will greatly aid in our efforts towards understanding the biological underpinnings of schizophrenia etiology.
Funding Agency	National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
Title	Corelation of a novel neuregulin 1 missense mutation with functionality
Status	Complete
Period	7/2007 - 7/2010
Role	Principal Investigator
Grant Detail	Perform molecular biology experiments to correlate a neuregulin 1 missense mutation with funcionality and determine its possible role in schizophrenia development

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Year	Degree	Discipline	Institution
2005	Postdoctoral Fellowship	Genetics	University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) San Antonio , TX
2001	PhD	Biochemistry	University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio San Antonio , TX
1995	MS	Chemistry	University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio , TX
1992	BS	Chemical Engineering	Instituto Tecnologico de la Laguna Torreon, Coahuila , Mexico

Date	Description	Institution	# Students
8/2010 - Present	Post-Doctoral Student Supervision	UTHSCSA

7/2010 - Present	Post-Doctoral Student Supervision	UTHSCSA

7/2010 - Present	High School/Junior High School Student Supervision	UTHSCSA

7/2008 - Present	Ph.D. Dissertations Directed	UTHSCSA

7/2008 - Present	Research	The University of Texas Health Science Center	1 student
I direct and supervise the original dissertation research project for my graduate student Ketan Marballi, whose dissertation proposal has been approved as of September 2009. Ketan received the 2010 Translational Science Training (TST) Across Disciplines Award from the UTHSCSA Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science, for his proposal related to his dissertation research.
1/2008 - Present	Individual Instruction	UTHSCSA

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Walss-Bass, Consuelo PhD

Cell Biology

Functional proteomics

Genetics of mental disorders

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