Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Program

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Microbiology and Immunology Graduate Students

Christian Yu
Christian Yu
Lab: Stephen Stray, PhD		Iftekhar RafiqullahIftekhar Rafiqulla
Lab: Ashley Robinson, PhD		Komal Beeton
Komal Beeton
Lab: Gene Bidwell, PhD
John Crawford
John Crawford
Lab: Ashley Robinson, PhD
Md Fahim Khan Md Fahim Khan
Lab: Lance Keller, PhD		Lucas CrosbyLucas Crosby
Lab: Lance Keller, PhD
Cameron HuhnCameron Huhn
Lab: Brian Akerley, PhD		Azia Mckenzie
Azia McKenzie
Lab: Undecided		Reanna Hales
Reanna Hales
Lab: Brigitte E. Martin, PhD

 

 

 

 

 

Asma Ul Taslim
Lab: Undecided

 

 

 

 

 

Christian A. Owusu
Lab: Undecided

Publications

Recent papers from some of our graduate students include:

Felch KL, Crider JD, Bhattacharjee D, Huhn C, Wilson M, Bengtén E. TLR7 in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is expressed in the endolysosome and is stimulated by synthetic ssRNA analogs, imiquimod, and resiquimod. Dev Comp Immunol. 2024 Aug;157:105197. doi: 10.1016/j.dci.2024.105197. Epub 2024 May 17. PMID: 38763479.

Beeton K, Mitra D, Akinleye AA, Howell JA, Yu CS, Bidwell GL 3rd, Tandon R. An Elastin-like Polypeptide-fusion peptide targeting capsid-tegument interface as an antiviral against cytomegalovirus infection. Sci Rep. 2024 May 4;14(1):10253. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-60691-6. PMID: 38704431; PMCID: PMC11069587.

Mills KB, Maciag JJ, Wang C, Crawford JA, Enroth TJ, Keim KC, Dufrêne YF, Robinson DA, Fey PD, Herr AB, Horswill AR. Staphylococcus aureus skin colonization is mediated by SasG lectin variation. Cell Rep. 2024 Apr 23;43(4):114022. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114022. Epub 2024 Apr 2. PMID: 38568806.

Rafiqullah IM, Varghese R, Hellmann KT, Velmurugan A, Neeravi A, Kumar Daniel JL, Vidal JE, Kompithra RZ, Verghese VP, Veeraraghavan B, Robinson DA. Pneumococcal population genomics changes during the early time period of conjugate vaccine uptake in southern India. Microb Genom. 2024 Feb;10(2):001191. doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001191. PMID: 38315173; PMCID: PMC10926699.

Scasny A, Alibayov B, Khan F, Rao SJ, Murin L, Jop Vidal AG, Smith P, Li W, Edwards K, Warncke K, Vidal JE. Oxidation of hemoproteins by Streptococcus pneumoniae collapses the cell cytoskeleton and disrupts mitochondrial respiration leading to the cytotoxicity of human lung cells. Microbiol Spectr. 2024 Jan 11;12(1):e0291223. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.02912-23. Epub 2023 Dec 12. PMID: 38084982; PMCID: PMC10783075.

Bonn CM, Rafiqullah IM, Crawford JA, Qian YM, Guthrie JL, Matuszewska M, Robinson DA, McGavin MJ. Repeated Emergence of Variant TetR Family Regulator, FarR, and Increased Resistance to Antimicrobial Unsaturated Fatty Acid among Clonal Complex 5 Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2023 Mar 16;67(3):e0074922. doi: 10.1128/aac.00749-22. Epub 2023 Feb 6. PMID: 36744906; PMCID: PMC10019231.

Sharma, P., Dwivedi, R., Ray, P., Shukla, J., Pomin, V. H., & Tandon, R. (2023). Inhibition of Cytomegalovirus by Pentacta pygmaea Fucosylated Chondroitin Sulfate Depends on Its Molecular Weight. Viruses, 15(4), 859. https://doi.org/10.3390/v15040859

Gingerich, A. D., Royer, F., McCormick, A. L., Scasny, A., Vidal, J. E., & Mousa, J. J. (2023). Synergistic Protection against Secondary Pneumococcal Infection by Human Monoclonal Antibodies Targeting Distinct Epitopes. Journal of Immunology, 210(1), 50–60. https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.2200349

Crider, J., Wilson, M., Felch, K. L., Dupre, R. A., Quiniou, S. M. A., & Bengtén, E. (2023). A subset of leukocyte immune-type receptors (LITRs) regulates phagocytosis in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) leukocytes. Molecular immunology, 154, 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molimm.2022.12.009

Thompson, C. D., Bradshaw, J. L., Miller, W. S., Vidal, A. G. J., Vidal, J. E., Rosch, J. W., McDaniel, L. S., & Keller, L. E. (2023). Oligopeptide Transporters of Nonencapsulated Streptococcus pneumoniae Regulate CbpAC and PspA Expression and Reduce Complement-Mediated Clearance. mBio, 14(1), e0332522. https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.03325-22

Oh, J. H., Martinez, A. D., Cao, H., George, G. W., Cobb, J. S., Sharma, P., Fassero, L. A., Arole, K., Carr, M. A., Lovell, K. M., Shukla, J., Saed, M. A., Tandon, R., Marquart, M. E., Moores, L. C., & Green, M. J. (2022). Radio Frequency Heating of Washable Conductive Textiles for Bacteria and Virus Inactivation. ACS applied materials & interfaces, 14(38), 43732–43740. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.2c11493

Pramanik, A., Mayer, J., Sinha, S. S., Sharma, P. C., Patibandla, S., Gao, Y., Corby, L. R., Bates, J. T., Bierdeman, M. A., Tandon, R., Seshadri, R., & Ray, P. C. (2022). Human ACE2 Peptide-Attached Plasmonic-Magnetic Heterostructure for Magnetic Separation, Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Identification, and Inhibition of Different Variants of SARS-CoV-2 Infections. ACS applied bio materials, 10.1021/acsabm.2c00573. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.2c00573

Quiniou, S. M. A., Crider, J., Felch, K. L., Bengtén, E., & Boudinot, P. (2022). Interferons and interferon receptors in the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Fish & Shellfish Immunology, 123, 442–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsi.2022.02.019

Dwivedi, R., Sharma, P., Farrag, M., Kim, S. B., Fassero, L. A., Tandon, R., & Pomin, V. H. (2022). Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 wild-type (Wuhan-Hu-1) and Delta (B.1.617.2) strains by marine sulfated glycans. Glycobiology, 32(10), 849–854. https://doi.org/10.1093/glycob/cwac042

Carr, M. A., Marcelo, D., Lovell, K. M., Benton, A. H.,Tullos, N. A., Norcross, E. W., Myers, B., Robbins, M. K., Craddieth, H., & Marquart, M. E. (2022). Absence of Streptococcus pneumoniae Capsule Increases Bacterial Binding, Persistence, and Inflammation in Corneal Infection. Microorganisms, 10(4), 710. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10040710

Pramanik, A., Sharma, P. C., Patibandla, S., Gao, Y., Ruppa-Kasani, V., Goli, J., Kumar, A., Chatterjee, A., Sinha, S. S., Bates, J. T., Bierdeman, M. A., Tandon, R., & Ray, P. C. (2022). Blocking SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant (B.1.617.2) Spike Protein Receptor-Binding Domain Binding with the ACE2 Receptor of the Host Cell and Inhibiting Virus Infections Using Human Host Defense Peptide-Conjugated Graphene Quantum Dots. ACS omega, 7(9), 8150–8157. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c00113

Vidal, J. E., Wier, M. N., A Angulo-Zamudio, U., McDevitt, E., Jop Vidal, A. G., Alibayov, B., Scasny, A., Wong, S. M., Akerley, B. J., & McDaniel, L. S. (2021). Prophylactic Inhibition of Colonization by Streptococcus pneumoniae with the Secondary Bile Acid Metabolite Deoxycholic Acid. Infection and immunity, 89(12), e0046321. https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00463-21

Jackson, M. D., Wong, S. M., & Akerley, B. J. (2021). Sialic Acid Protects Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae from Natural IgM and Promotes Survival in Murine Respiratory Tract. Infection and immunity, 89(6), e00676-20. https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00676-20

Mitra, D., Hasan, M. H., Bates, J. T., Bidwell, G. L., 3rd, & Tandon, R. (2021). Tegument Protein pp150 Sequence-Specific Peptide Blocks Cytomegalovirus Infection. Viruses,13(11), 2277. https://doi.org/10.3390/v13112277

Crider, J., Quiniou, S. M. A., Felch, K. L., Showmaker, K., Bengtén, E., & Wilson, M. (2021). A Comprehensive Annotation of the Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) T Cell Receptor Alpha/Delta, Beta, and Gamma Loci. Frontiers in immunology, 12, 786402. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.786402

Mitra, D., Hasan, M. H., Bates, J. T., Bierdeman, M. A., Ederer, D. R., Parmar, R. C., Fassero, L. A., Liang, Q., Qiu, H., Tiwari, V., Zhang, F., Linhardt, R. J., Sharp, J. S., Wang, L., & Tandon, R. (2021). The degree of polymerization and sulfation patterns in heparan sulfate are critical determinants of cytomegalovirus entry into host cells. PLoS pathogens, 17(8), e1009803. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1009803

Blackmon, L. E., Quiniou, S. M. A., Wilson, M., & Bengtén, E. (2020). Catfish lymphocytes expressing CC41-reactive leukocyte immune-type receptors (LITRs) proliferate in response to Edwardsiella ictaluri infection in vitro. Developmental and Comparative Immunology, 106, 103610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2020.103610

Bradshaw, J. L., Rafiqullah, I. M., Robinson, D. A., & McDaniel, L. S. (2020). Transformation of nonencapsulated Streptococcus pneumoniae during systemic infection. Scientific reports, 10(1), 18932. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75988-5

McDevitt, E., Khan, F., Scasny, A., Thompson, C. D., Eichenbaum, Z., McDaniel, L. S., & Vidal, J. E. (2020). Hydrogen Peroxide Production by Streptococcus pneumoniae Results in Alpha-hemolysis by Oxidation of Oxy-hemoglobin to Met-hemoglobin. mSphere, 5(6), e01117-20. https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.01117-20

Taylor, E. B., Chinchar, V. G., Quiniou, S. M. A., Wilson, M., & Bengtén, E. (2020). Cloning and characterization of antiviral cytotoxic T lymphocytes in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Virology, 540, 184–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2019.11.014

Jackson, M. D., Wong, S. M., & Akerley, B. J. (2019). Underlying Glycans Determine the Ability of Sialylated Lipooligosaccharide To Protect Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae from Serum IgM and Complement. Infection and immunity, 87(11), e00456-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00456-19

Benton, A. H., Jackson, M. D., Wong, S. M., Dees, J. L., Akerley, B. J., & Marquart, M. E. (2019). A Transcriptional Activator of Ascorbic Acid Transport in Streptococcus pneumoniae Is Required for Optimal Growth in Endophthalmitis in a Strain-Dependent Manner. Microorganisms, 7(9), 290. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7090290

Spencer, D. A., Quiniou, S. M. A., Crider, J., Musungu, B., Bengten, E., & Wilson, M. (2019). Insights into the dynamics of memory, effector, and apoptotic cytotoxic T lymphocytes in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Developmental and Comparative Immunology, 92, 116–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2018.11.001