Dr. Fabricio Medina-Bolivar

Professor of Plant Metabolic Engineering, Director of Environmental Sciences and Molecular Biosciences

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Education

• B.S. - 1992 - Biology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
• Ph.D. - 1997 - Plant Physiology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA

Research Interests

Dr. Medina-Bolivar's groundbreaking research sits at the crossroads of plant biotechnology and human health, where he delves into the innovative realm of utilizing hairy roots to unlock the potential of natural products for human well-being. Hairy roots, serving as immortalized plant tissue culture systems, mirror intact plants' ability to synthesize essential compounds. Through experimentation, Dr. Medina-Bolivar and his team have devised cutting-edge methodologies that amplify the levels of specific bioactive natural products within hairy roots by an astonishing factor of more than 1,000 compared to their original plant source. This proprietary technology not only facilitates the sustainable production of these compounds but also paves the way for their evaluation across a spectrum of bioactivities, encompassing potential applications in anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cardioprotective realms.

Dr. Medina-Bolivar's research stands as a beacon of hope for the development of novel therapeutic agents derived from nature's bounty. For more information about Dr. Medina-Bolivar’s laboratory, check his lab website at https://fabriciomedinabolivarlab.com

Publications (Selected)

Sharma A, Gajurel G, Ahmed I, Roedel K, Medina-Bolivar F. 2022. Induction of the prenylated stilbenoids arachidin-1 and arachidin-3 and their semi-preparative separation and purification from hairy root cultures of peanut (Arachis hypogaea). Molecules. 27(18):6118. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27186118

Gajurel G, Nopo-Olazabal L, Hendrix E, Medina-Bolivar F. 2022. Production and secretion of cajaninstilbene acid in hairy root cultures of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) co-treated with multiple elicitors. Plants. 11(6):834. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11060834

Mohammadhosseinpour S, Ho L-C, Fang L, Xu J, Medina-Bolivar F. 2022. Arachidin-1, a prenylated stilbenoid from peanut, induces apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer cells. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 23, 1139. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23031139

Gajurel G, Hasan R, Medina-Bolivar F. 2021. Antioxidant assessment of prenylated stilbenoid-rich extracts from elicited hairy root cultures of three cultivars of peanut (Arachis hypogaea). Molecules. 26(22): 6778. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26226778

Fang L, Yang T, Medina-Bolivar F. 2020. Production of prenylated stilbenoids in hairy root cultures of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) and its wild relatives A. ipaensis and A. duranensis via an optimized elicitation procedure. Molecules. 25(3):509. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25030509

Witcher CM, Napier-Jameson R, Lockwood HN, Mattila MN, Wisdom SB, Saade Ferreira LL, Taylor J, Clack B, Medina-Bolivar F, Ball JM, Parr RD. 2019. Arachidin-1 and arachidin-3 modulation of rotavirus-infected MA104 cells. Journal of the American Council for Medicinally Active Plants. 8 (1): 1-19. https://doi.org/10.7275/rdt9-mk14

Yang T, Fang L, Sanders S, Jayanthi S, Rajan G, Podicheti R, Thallapuranam SK, Mockaitis K, Medina-Bolivar F. 2018. Stilbenoid prenyltransferases define key steps in the diversification of peanut stilbenoids. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 293: 28-46

Yang T, Fang L, Rimando A, Sobolev V, Mockaitis K, Medina-Bolivar. 2016. A stilbenoid specific prenyltransferase utilizes dimethylallyl pyrophosphate from the plastidic terpenoid pathway. Plant Physiology. 171: 2483-2498. https://doi.org/10.1104%2Fpp.16.00610

Ball JM, Medina-Bolivar F, Defrates K, Hambleton E, Hulburt M, Fang L, Yang T, Nopo-Olazabal L, Atwill RL, Ghai P,  Parr RD. 2015. Investigation of stilbenoids as potential therapeutic agents for rotavirus infections. Advances in Virology. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/293524

Yang T, Fang L, Nopo-Olazabal C, Condori J, Nopo-Olazabal L, Medina-Bolivar F. 2015. Enhanced production of resveratrol, piceatannol, arachidin-1 and arachidin-3 in hairy root cultures of peanut co-treated with methyl jasmonate and cyclodextrin. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 63(15):3942-50. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf5050266

Publications by Dr. Medina-Bolivar indexed on Google Scholar >>

Patents

Medina-Bolivar F, Dolan M, Bennett S, Condori J, Hubstenberger J. “Production of stilbenes in hairy roots”.  US Patent No. 7666677 (issued February 23, 2010). European Patent Application No. 07799286.5 (March 2009; International Patent Application No. PCT/US07/72756).

Medina-Bolivar F, Dolan M. “Production of stilbenes in plant hairy root cultures and other root cultures” US Continuation-in-part Patent Application (filed 2009).

Radominska-Pandya F, Prather P, Medina-Bolivar F, Mayeux P. “Stilbenoid derivatives and their uses”.  US Patent Application No. 13/339,163 (filed December 28, 2011). US Continuation Patent Application No. 14721551 (filed May 26, 2015). US Patent No. 9095598 B2 (issued August 4, 2015).

Medina-Bolivar F, Yang T.  “Method to increase the yield of products in plant material".  US Provisional Patent Application No. 61729659 (filed November 26, 2012). US Patent Application No. 13784877 (filed on March 5, 2013). US Patent No. 9,598,707 B2 (Issued March 31, 2017). European Patent No. EP2735609A2 (Issued August 16, 2017). Continuation in Part US Patent No. 10,144,913 (Issued December 4, 2018).

Medina-Bolivar F, Parr R. “Therapeutic applications of prenylated stilbenoids against rotavirus infections” US Patent Application No. 15/091,758 (filed April 6, 2016). PCT Application No. PCT/US16/26346 (filed April 6, 2016).

Murphy W, Fontana G, Jershlak J, Gaudette G, Weathers P, Dominko T, Rolle M, Hernandez S, Cramer C, Medina-Bolivar F. 2017. Functionalization of plant tissues for human cell expansion. US Patent Application No. 16/085220 (filed March 14, 2017).

Medina-Bolivar F, Yang T, Mockaitis T. “Stilbenoid prenyltransferases from plants".  US Provisional Patent Application (filed June 16, 2016). US Patent Application No. 15/625,450 (filed June 16, 2017). US Patent No. 10,704,052 (issued July 7, 2020). US Continuation Application (filed July 6, 2020).

Medina-Bolivar F, Fang L, Sharma A, Henry F, Moussou P, Samuga A. “Botanical compositions and methods of production and use thereof”. US Provisional Patent Application (filed September 9, 2022).

Curriculum Vitae

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Biography

Dr. Medina-Bolivar became a member of A-State in 2005 and now serves as a professor of Plant Metabolic Engineering within the Department of Biological Sciences. Additionally, he holds the positions of director for both the Environmental Sciences Program and the Molecular Biosciences Graduate Program. With approximately 50 peer-reviewed papers, 7 patents, and 18 gene registrations to his name, he has shared his research in over 340 scientific meetings. His studies have received funding from various federal agencies and industry companies.