Welcome to my website and blog! I’m Larry Rodriguez, a PhD scientist, hiphop head, and award winning stand-up comedian. Check out my publications, learn more about my background and my projects, or check out my methods and resources section to see how I do things!
My old patch-clamp electrophysiology rig! Voltorb reminds me of the frog eggs I used to work with and Raticate represents the rats we record on; they bring luck.
What’s up!!! My name is Larry Rodriguez, and I’m a standup comedian and biochemist turned neuroscientist who wants to discover new drugs. I’m a postdoc in the laboratory of John Yates at the Scripps Research Institute and earned my PhD in Pharmacology along with a MSc in Regulatory Science from the USC School of Pharmacy. I’ve used molecular biology, biochemistry, and pharmacology to study GPCRs and ion channels, both in vitro and ex vivo.
Blog
I write about proteomics, molecular/cell biology, electrophysiology, and drug discovery! I also throw in experiment-freestyles (why is Gibson Assembly so cool? How do you start a molecular biology lab with little to no funding?) Lastly, I include personal and career updates, along with my thoughts on academia and science. Check it out!
Research
Here you can find my publications and my dissertation. I try to post preprints when possible. Special shoutout to my amazing team of undergraduate/high school researcher assistants (and co-authors) pictured here!
Methods
Here is a collection of my protocols, as well as papers/software/tools that I find helpful. Mouth-pipetting is not recommended unless you’re doing patch clamp electrophysiology (like me!)
About me
Read my origin story to understand why I chose to pursue a career in drug discovery, how I went from Dodge City Community College to the Scripps Research Institute, and why I love frogs so much (spoiler: because I worked with Xenopus laevis oocytes/frog eggs in grad school).
Huge shoutout to the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education (AFPE), the National Institute on Alcohol Addiction and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and the USC School of Pharmacy for providing the funding and resources necessary to support my projects. Views expressed on this site are my own, and do not constitute legal or investment advice.