Juan Pablo Zuniga Hertz, PhD

Dr. Juan Pablo Zuniga Hertz, PhD., serves as Associate Professor of Systems Physiology at D’Youville University College of Osteopathic Medicine. A biomedical scientist and educator with more than 20 years of research experience, Dr. Zuniga Hertz specializes in cellular and systems physiology, membrane biophysics, chronobiology and circadian biology, and cellular energetic metabolism. Dr. Zuniga Hertz has a strong record of scientific publications, undergraduate lecturing and mentoring, and research collaborations in important national and international academic centers.

Dr. Zuniga Hertz has mentored more than 30 students from high schoolers to post-doctoral researchers. His mentor and tutoring experience transcend the academic field, having assisted numerous students in their biomedical career paths through curricular and extracurricular orientation.

• Post-doctoral researcher at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, CA, 2021
• Post-doctoral fellow at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY, 2018
• PhD. Sciences (Human Physiology), University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2014
• B.Sc. Biochemistry, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Chile, 2009

• American Aging Association Scientific Membership, 2018
• Young researcher Michel Jamra Award, 2014
• International Diabetes Federation World Diabetes Congress Grant, 2011
• Ricardo Miledi Neuroscience Training Program, 2009
• Hugo Arechiga and Society for Neuroscience meeting attendance award, 2009

• Cellular physiology
• Chronobiology and Circadian Biology
• Membranes biochemistry and biophysics
• Physiology education based on molecular mechanism
• Cellular energetic metabolism
• Endocannabinoid system and Phyto cannabinoids therapeutic potential

• Alex Jinich-Diamant, Sierra Simpson, Juan P. Zuniga-Hertz, et al. Author Correction: Neural and molecular changes during a mind-body reconceptualization, meditation, and open label placebo healing retreat: an observational study. 
  Commun Biol. 2026 Jul 25;9(1):1015. doi: 10.1038/s42003-026-10719-6
• Alice E Zemljic-Harpf, Jacqueline A Bonds, Juan Pablo Zuniga Hertz, Hemal H Patel. Role of Membrane Microdomains in Cardiac Protection: Strategies for Diabetic Cardiomyopathy. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2025 Aug 1;329(2):H572-H591. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00139.2025
• Marissa F Dzotsi, Allyssa Strohm, Swetha Varshney, Juan P Zuniga-Hertz, Ramamurthy Chitteti, Emily Manoogian, Anshika Sethi, Satchidananda Panda, Hemal H Patel, Taylor A Doherty, Pam Taub. Time-Restricted Eating Improves QOL, Hear Rate, and Mitochondrial Function in Patients with POTS. Sci Rep. 2025 Oct 2;15(1):34345. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-16836-2
• Juan P. Zuniga-Hertz, Sierra Simpson, et al. Multidimensional Analysis of Twin Sets During an Intensive Week-Long Meditation Retreat: A Pilot Study. Mindfulness (N Y). 2025;16(6):1634-1655. doi: 10.1007/s12671-025-02584-x
• Ramamurthy Chitteti, Juan Pablo Zuniga Hertz, Jorge A Masso-Silva, John Shin, Ingrid Niesman, Christine M Bojanowski, Avnee J Kumar, Mark Hepokoski, Laura E Crotty Alexander, Hemal H Patel, David M Roth. E-cigarette-induced changes in cell stress and mitochondrial function. Free Radic Biol Med. Jan 3. 2025: S0891-5849(25)00004-8. Doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2025.01.004.
• Zuniga-Hertz, Juan Pablo, Ramamurthy Chitteti, Joe Dispenza, Raphael Cuomo, Jacqueline A Bonds, Elena Kopp, Sierra Simpson, Jonathan Okerblom, Svetlana Maurya, Brinda Rana, Atsushi Miyonahara, Ingrid Niesman, Jacqueline Maree, Gianna Belza, Hillari D Hamilton, Carla Staton, David J Gonzalez, Michelle A Poirier, Tobias Moeller-Bertram, Hemal H Patel. Meditation-induced bloodborne factors as an adjuvant treatment to COVID-19 disease. Brain Behav Immun Health. 2023 Aug 7:32:100675. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2023.100675
• Zuniga-Hertz, Juan Pablo, Pavlovsky, Arthur, Li, Cecilia, Golomb, Beatrice, Patel, Hemal. Gulf War Illness impact on cellular membrane integrity. Biophysical Journal, 121(3), 488a, 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.11.347.
• Alice E. Zemljic-Harpf, Louse E. See Hoe, Jan M. Schilling, Juan P Zuniga-Hertz, Alexander Nguyen, Yash J. Vaishnav, Gianna J. Belza, Boris P. Budiono, Piyush M. Patel, Brian P. Head, Wolfgang H. Dilmann, Sushil K. Mahata, Jason N. Peart, David M. Roth, John P. Headrick, Hemal H. Patel. Morphine induces physiological, structural, and molecular benefits in the diabetic myocardium. FASEB J. 2021 Mar;35(3):e21407. doi: 10.1096/fj.201903233R.
• Engy A. Abdel-Rahman, Salma Hosseiny, Abdullah Aaliya, Mohamed Adel, Basma Yasseen, Abdelrahman Al-Okda, Yasmine Radwan, Saber H. Saber, Nada Elkholy, Eslam Elhanafy, Emily E. Walker, Juan P. Zuniga-Hertz, Hemal H. Patel, Helen R. Griffiths, Sameh S. Ali. Sleep/wake calcium dynamics, respiratory function, and ROS production in cardiac mitochondria. J Adv Res. 2021 Jan 12:31:35-47. doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2021.01.006
• Naiqing Zhang, Juan P Zuniga-Hertz, Elizabeth Yan Zhang, Tilvawala Gopesh, Mckenzie J Fannon, Jiaying Wang, Yue Wen, Hemal H Patel, James Friend. Microliter ultrafast centrifuge platform for size-based particle and cell separation and extraction using novel omnidirectional spiral surface acoustic waves. Lab Chip. 2021 Mar 7;21(5):904-915. doi: 10.1039/d0lc01012j. 
• Yizhe Tang, Juan Pablo Zuniga-Hertz, Cheng Han, Bin Yu, Dongsheng Cai. Multifaceted secretion of htNSC-derived hypothalamic islets induces survival and antidiabetic effect via peripheral implantation in mice. Elife, e52580, p.1-22. 2020. doi: 10.7554/eLife.52580.
• Juan Pablo Zuniga-Hertz, Hemal H. Patel. The Evolution of cholesterol-rich membrane in oxygen adaption: The respiratory system as a model. Frontiers in Physiology, v.10, Article 1340, p.1-18. 2019. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2019.01340.
• Yalin Zhang, Judith M. Rachel, Juan Pablo Zuniga-Hertz, Dongsheng Cai. Astrocytic process plasticity and IKKβ/NF-κB in central control of blood glucose, blood pressure and body weight. Cell Metabolism, v.25(5), p.1091-1102.e4. 2017 doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2017.04.002.
• Yalin Zhang, Min Soo Kim, Baosen Jia, Jingqi Yan, Juan Pablo Zuniga-Hertz, Cheng Han, Dongsheng Cai. Control of aging speed by hypothalamic stem cells partly involving secretory exosomal miRNAs. Nature, v.548(7665), p. 52-57. 2017. doi: 10.1038/nature23282.
• Batinga H, Zúñiga-Hertz JP, Torrão AS. Cannabinoid receptor ligands prevent dopaminergic neurons death induced by neurotoxic, inflammatory and oxidative stimuli in vitro. Journal of Biomedical Sciences, ISSN 2254-609X, 5(1): 16. 2015. doi:10.4172/2254-609X.100016.
• Zúñiga-Hertz JP, Rebelato E, Kassan A, Khalifa AM, Ali SS, Patel HH, Abdulkader F. Distinct Pathways of Cholesterol Biosynthesis impact on Insulin Secretion. Journal of Endocrinology, v.224, p. 75-84. 2015. doi: 10.1530/JOE-14-0348.