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Exploration, Expansion, And Optimization Of Bacteriophage Virus-Like Particle Vaccines, Andzoa N. Jamus

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Bacteriophage virus-like particles are highly immunogenic, self-assembling platforms used for various vaccines. This work shows efforts to explore new vaccine candidates against Chlamydia trachomatis, targeting proteins that play critical roles in attachment and entry into the host cell, as well as in pathogenesis and bacteria proliferation. This work also shows the optimization of previously identified candidates, by investigating how altering routes of immunization can change the antibody profiles elicited, both systemically and locally. Finally, this work shows the establishment of various Chlamydia infection models in an effort to expand the ways in which vaccine efficacy can be investigated, particularly …

Immune Regulation In Fungal Airway Inflammation And Host Defense, Ruoning Wang

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the lungs characterized by complex pathophysiological mechanisms and diverse endotypes, primarily categorized as T helper type 2 cell (Th2)-high and Th2-low asthma. Despite significant advances in understanding asthma pathogenesis, the mechanisms governing the pulmonary immune system’s response to external challenges have not been fully understood. To address these gaps, this comprehensive project was designed to investigate the interplay between fungal infections and specific CD4⁺ T cell populations in asthma. Our findings suggest that fungal infections can contribute to neutrophilic asthma by promoting the migration of platelet-myeloid aggregates into the lungs. We also …

Exploring Immune System Through Computational Modeling: A Comprehensive Study Of Lymph Nodes And Immune Response Scaling, Vaccine Efficacy, And Large-Scale Extreme First Passage Time, Jannatul Ferdous

Computer Science ETDs

The adaptive immune response is a complex defense mechanism that develops over time to recognize and eliminate pathogens with remarkable precision and durability. This dissertation investigates the dynamics, scaling, and efficiency of the adaptive immune response through a synthesis of computational modeling, mathematical analysis, and agent-based simulations. First, we analyze the topology of the lymphatic network and investigate the T cell search time to find the lymph node that is containing the matching dendritic cell. Second we show how the scaling of lymph node number and volume with body mass, leads to scale-invariant search times for T cells locating antigen-bearing …

Selenium Nanoparticles Synthesized By Pulsed Laser Ablation In Liquids For Antimicrobial Applications, Tina Hesabizadeh

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to synthesize selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) by Pulsed Laser Ablation in Liquids (PLAL) and investigate their antibacterial and biological effects, particularly their impact on cell viability and related biological responses. Spherical amorphous Se NPs were produced by irradiating a selenium target using a combination of bottom- and top-ablation protocols. After autoclaving, the amorphous Se NPs were converted into trigonal Se NPs. Se NPs were characterized by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The biological effects of Se NPs were quantitatively assessed through evaluations of cell viability and associated …

Phosphoglycerate Mutase Regulates Treg Differentiation Through Control Of Serine Synthesis And One-Carbon Metabolism, Wesley H Godfrey, Judy J Lee, Shruthi Shanmukha, Kaho Cho, Xiaojing Deng, Chandra Shekar R Ambati, Vasanta Putluri, Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal, Paul M Kim, Nagireddy Putluri, Michael D Kornberg

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The differentiation and suppressive functions of regulatory CD4 T cells (Tregs) are supported by a broad array of metabolic changes, providing potential therapeutic targets for immune modulation. In this study, we focused on the regulatory role of glycolytic enzymes in Tregs and identified phosphoglycerate mutase (PGAM) as being differentially overexpressed in Tregs and associated with a highly suppressive phenotype. Pharmacologic or genetic inhibition of PGAM reduced Treg differentiation and suppressive function while reciprocally inducing markers of a pro-inflammatory, T helper 17 (Th17)-like state. The regulatory role of PGAM was dependent on the contribution of 3-phosphoglycerate (3 PG), the PGAM substrate, …

A New Species Of Viscachataenia (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) From The Southern Mountain Viscacha, Lagidium Viscacia (Hystricomorpha: Chinchillidae), In Bolivia, Terry R. Haverkost, Scott L. Gardner

MANTER: Journal of Parasite Biodiversity

Anoplocephalid cestodes collected from the southern mountain viscacha, Lagidium viscacia, in Boliva in 1986 are here examined, and a new species of Viscachataenia is described. The new species has numerous body measurements that are larger than the existing species, V. quadrata, but the eggs and corresponding structures of the new species are all smaller than those of V. quadrata.

Il-6 Predicts Cdk4/6 Inhibitor Resistance, Identifying Stat3 As A Target In Hr + /Her2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer, Nicole M Kettner, Tuyen N Bui, Juliana Navarro-Yepes, Sanaz Ghotbaldini, Bethanie Quintela, Catherine K Luo, Nghi Lam, Xiayu Rao, Akshara Singareeka Raghavendra, Yan Wang, Nancy Azizian, T Kris Eckols, Moses Makokha Kasembeli, Kurt Evans, Min Yi, Hannah Wingate, Jing Wang, Aysegul A Sahin, Funda Meric-Bernstam, Kelly K Hunt, Senthil Damodaran, David J Tweardy, Debu Tripathy, Khandan Keyomarsi

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6i) is a major challenge in treating hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. This study aimed to identify a biomarker predictive of resistance that could also serve as a therapeutic target. Circulating IL-6 levels in 166 patients significantly increased at progression, making IL-6 a non-invasive biomarker to predict CDK4/6i resistance. Knockdown of IL-6 re-sensitized resistant cells to palbociclib and endocrine therapy, underscoring IL-6's critical role in maintaining resistance. Patient-derived xenograft models from patients who progressed within 3 months versus ≥6 months of palbociclib therapy revealed distinct transcriptomic profiles, with later progressors exhibiting IL-6/STAT3 activation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, …

Feasibility Of Manufacturing And Antitumor Activity Of Til For Advanced Endometrial Cancers, Yongliang Zhang, Kathleen N Moore, Amir A Jazaeri, Judy Fang, Ilabahen Patel, Andrew Yuhas, Patrick Innamarato, Nathan Gilbert, Joseph W Dean, Behzad Damirchi, Joe Yglesias, Rongsu Qi, Michelle R Simpson-Abelson, Erwin Cammaart, Sean R R Hall, Hequn Yin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Lifileucel, a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapy approved for advanced melanoma, demonstrates promise for treating other solid tumors, including endometrial cancer (EC). The current study evaluates the feasibility of manufacturing TILs from EC tumors using Iovance’s proprietary 22-day Gen2 manufacturing process. Key parameters, including TIL yield, viability, immune phenotype, T-cell receptor clonality, and cytotoxic activity, were assessed. Of the 11 EC tumor samples processed at research scale, 10 (91%) successfully generated >1 × 109 viable TIL cells, with a median yield of 1.1 × 1010 cells and a median viability of 82.8%. Of the four EC tumor samples processed at …

Antibacterial Potential Of Tapanuli Orangutan (Pongo Tapanuliensis) Food In Batang Toru Forest Against Escherichia Coli And Salmonella Typhi, Herna Febrianty Sianipar, Wahyu Widoretno, Luchman Hakim, Rezi Rahmi Amolia, Fatchiyah Fatchiyah

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Diarrhea is a common disease affecting orangutans, primarily caused by Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi bacteria. To treat this disease, antibacterial food sources are essential as therapeutic agents for orangutans. The fruits consumed by Tapanuli orangutans include Campnosperma auriculatum, Agathis borneensis, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Castanopsis argantea, and Aglaia tomentosa. This study aims to examine the amino acid and phytochemical components with potential antibacterial properties in these five fruit species and their inhibitory effects on E. coli and S. typhi growth through cell lysis, observed using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The samples were tested for amino acids, phytochemicals, vitamin C content, …

Anti-Dirt Hand Sanitizer: A Zeolite-Enhanced Approach To Hygiene And Microbial Protection, Theo Uskoković, Evangelina Uskoković, Victoria Wu, Vuk Uskoković

Administration and Staff Articles and Research

Children love to play with dirt and their outdoor activities oftentimes make their hands heavily soiled. Meanwhile, improper sanitation of the hands prior to making contact with food or bodily fluids can result in potentially dangerous infection. In situations where handwashing is not available, hand sanitizers present a common cleaning agent of choice. However, as it is shown here, standard sanitizers, albeit acting effectively against skin microbes, do not have the ability to remove the dirt deposits off children's hands, where microbial colonies may remain protected against the antiseptic effect of the sanitizer. To circumvent this limitation, we designed and …

A Cancer Education Needs Assessment: Informing Middle-Aged Female Patients About The Relationships Between Obesity And Women’S Health Concerns In The Reproductive System, Breast, And Endometrial Health, Batul Mirza

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Obesity significantly impacts women’s health, particularly among middle-aged women, by increasing the risk of hormone-sensitive cancers such as breast, endometrial, and reproductive system cancers. This study examines the educational needs of this demographic group regarding obesity-related cancer risks and explores effective intervention strategies. Obesity-induced mechanisms – hormonal imbalances, chronic inflammation, and insulin resistance – drive cancer susceptibility, emphasizing the need for targeted health education. The study employs a qualitative design, which includes interviews with subject matter experts (SMEs) and surveys of middle-aged women. The goal is to assess awareness, perceived barriers, and preferred learning methods. Findings suggest that with many …

Ifn-Β Production Promotes Metabolic Rewiring And Protection Against Oxidative Stress In Hepatitis Delta Virus-Infected Hepatocyte Cultures, Olga A Khomich, Patrick Giavalisco, Romain Parent, George S Krasnov, Peter Tessarz, Philip Meuleman, Rani Burm, Natalia F Zakirova, Jennifer Molle, Enkhtuul Batbold, Eyal Gottlieb, Fabien Zoulim, Alexander V Ivanov, Birke Bartosch

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Type I interferons are secreted in response to various stimuli and are used as a treatment for many diseases, including infections with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and its satellite virus, hepatitis delta (HDV). HDV significantly aggravates HBV-mediated liver damage and is - in contrast to HBV - a strong inducer of interferon responses, including IFN-β. As the role of IFN- β in liver metabolism is so far ill explored, we studied its impact on hepatocyte metabolism in HDV-infected cultures. Transcriptome analysis, isotope tracing and functional tests on differentiated, HDV-infected hepatocytes showed reduction of mitochondrial TCA cycle and respiratory activity …

Effects Of Extraction Methods On The Composition And Immunological Activities Of Yeast Mannoproteins, Haibo Zhang, Yongjun Xia, Guangqiang Wang, Ning Peng, Zhixian Chen, Lianzhong Ai

Journal of Food Science and Biotechnology

[Objective ] The extraction efficiency of different methods and the effects of these methods on the composition of mannoproteins extracted from yeast cell walls were compared.Furthermore,the anti-inflammatory activities of the extracted mannoprotein were evaluated.[Method ] Three yeast mannoproteins (MP-W,MP-B,and MP-E ) were extracted via high-temperature water,alkali,and enzyme-assisted extraction methods and purified via ethanol precipitation.The identification of monosaccharide composition and amino acid composition,distribution of relative molecular mass,and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were employed to analyze the composition and chemical structures of yeast mannoproteins.A cell experiment was carried out to examine the anti-inflammatory activity.[Result ] The yields of yeast mannoproteins extracted by …

Effects Of Staphylococcal Superantigen-Like Protein 11 (Ssl11) On The Host Immune Response During Lung Infection, Sajani Ghaju

LSU Master's Theses

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is an opportunistic pathogen that produces numerous immune evasion molecules that target various components of the host immune defense to cause infection. One of these is a family of virulence factors, Staphylococcal superantigen-like proteins (SSLs) with 14 members that exhibit host immune-evasion functions. SSL11 has been reported to inhibit neutrophil migration, preventing its recruitment to sites of infection. However, its role in vivo and effect on neutrophil phagocytosis have not been known. This thesis focuses on studying the effect of recombinant SSL11 protein in an in vivo S. aureus-induced pneumonia model and in vitro …

Hepatitis Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: A Single-Center Retrospective Study, Jin-Long Ju, Yun-Tai Yao, Jun Li, Zhi Cheng, Ling-Ling Fan, Yu-Long Zhong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This study aimed to investigate whether there is difference among various clinical variables, especially blood loss and total drainage volume, among patients with different types of hepatitis undergoing cardiac surgery. A retrospective study was performed on 150 hepatitis patients (127 hepatitis B and 23 hepatitis C) who underwent cardiac surgery at a single cardiovascular center in 2020. Data on their preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables were collected and statistically analyzed to assess the inter-group differences in the following variables: intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage volume, proportion of patients treated with blood transfusion, proportion of patients treated with vasoactive drugs, and …

Chaperone-Usher Pathway Pili Adhesin Conformations And Inhibitors In Urinary Tract Infections, Edward Lopatto

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Antibiotic resistant bacteria are becoming increasingly difficult-to-treat resulting in increased morbidity and mortality, especially for common infections such as urinary tract infections (UTIs). Globally, UTIs afflict over 400 million people a year. Numerous different gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial species cause UTIs, including uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter baumannii. Many of these bacterial species are listed as pathogens of urgent concern by the Center for Disease Control due to the dangerous rise and prevalence of antibiotic resistance necessitating development of new therapeutic measures. Bacteria utilize adhesin factors, such as chaperone-usher pathway (CUP) pili to gain a foothold in …

Commentary On Blaser's "Antibiotic Use And Its Consequences For The Normal Microbiome", Fred C. Tenover

AMR Commentary

If you have not read this eye-opening commentary by Dr. Martin Blaser about the negative impact of the widespread use of antibiotics in children, you should. The goal of giving antibiotics to children usually is to treat an infection — an earache, a respiratory tract infection, or perhaps a potentially deadly bloodstream infection. Those antibiotics, however, will often kill more than just the bacteria that are causing the infection. Humans have large quantities of “good bacteria” in our intestinal tracts, on our skin, and elsewhere on our body that play an important role in keeping us healthy.

Skin Bacteriome Structure And Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis Prevalence Differs Amongst Two Sympatric Salamanders In The San Francisco Bay Area., Aria Norwood, Jadyn Jamora, Micuel Madison, Jamiee Nguyen, Azan Yousaf, Katya Morales, Emily Vu, Obed Hernández-Gómez

Natural Sciences and Mathematics | Student Professional Publications

Microbial surveys are becoming an important component of wildlife health research, especially in cases where environmental change and infectious diseases are serious issues. Amongst amphibians, Batrachochytrium spp. have the potential to be fatal pathogens that can impact the population health of numerous species. We assessed the skin bacteriome, prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and body conditions of two salamander genera with different life histories: the California slender salamander (Batrachoseps attenuatus) and members of the Pacific newt species complex (Taricha torosa and Taricha granulosa; Taricha sp.). We used 16S rRNA V4 amplicon sequencing to characterise the bacterial communities. Taricha sp. had …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 37. What About Wallace On Vaccination . . . ?, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Best known for his natural history studies on evolution and biogeography, Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) had a significant second career as a social critic. One of his most controversial stances was his position on (smallpox) vaccination. Anti-vaxxers of the present frequently bring up his name as a resource for their side, but the situation is not so easily reducible to that.

Common Sources, Perceived Communication Efficacy And Sufficiency Of Cervical Cancer Information, Education And Communication Materials For Women With Hiv/Aids In Rural Kenya, Scholastic Musakali Adeli, Elkanah Orang'o, Violet Naanyu, Ann Mwangi, Peter Itsura, Barry Rosen, Patrick Loehrer

Obstetrics and Gynaecology, East Africa

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the greatest cause of cancer-related death among women in Sub-Saharan Africa, with particularly high incidence and mortality rates in rural regions. In Kenya, Women with HIV/AIDS (WLHA) are at a greater risk of developing cervical cancer though screening rate remains low. Information, education and communication (IEC) materials play a crucial role in raising awareness, promoting screening, and supporting early detection and treatment; however, little is known about the accessibility, content, and perceived effectiveness of these materials from the perspective of WLHA.

Methods: The objective of this study was to determine the common sources, perceived communication efficacy …

Evaluating Large Language Model Performance To Support The Diagnosis And Management Of Patients With Primary Immune Disorders, Nicholas L Rider, Yingya Li, Aaron T Chin, Daniel V Digiacomo, Cullen Dutmer, Jocelyn R Farmer, Kirk Roberts, Guergana Savova, Mei-Sing Ong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is transforming health care in a variety of ways; however, the present utility of GAI for supporting clinicians who treat rare disease such as primary immune disorders (PIs) is not well studied. We evaluated the ability of 6 state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs) for providing clinical guidance about PIs.

Objective: To quantitatively and qualitatively measure the utility of current, open-source LLMs for diagnosing and providing helpful clinical decision support about PIs.

Methods: Five expert clinical immunologists each provided 5 real-world, anonymized PI case vignettes via multi-turn prompting to 6 LLMs (OpenAI GPT-4o, Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct, Llama-3.1-70B-Instruct, Mistral-7B-Instruct-v0.3, …

Cazyme Gene Cluster Diversity In Human Gut Microbiome, Yi Xing

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In gut microbiome research, carbohydrate-active enzyme gene clusters (CGCs) have emerged as key functional units for understanding microbial glycan degradation. Unlike taxonomic or broad pathway annotations, CGCs offer gene-cluster-level resolution and capture substrate-specific microbial functions. However, their diversity and distribution in relation to host metabolic phenotypes, such as obesity, remain poorly characterized. This study tests the hypothesis that the composition and abundance of fiber-targeting CGCs vary between obese and healthy human gut microbiomes, reflecting distinct microbial carbohydrate utilization strategies. To examine this, we constructed a high-quality reference CGC dataset comprising 94,019 clusters from the Unified Human Gastrointestinal Genome and profiled …

Overcoming Maternal Antibody Interference In Swine Influenza: Advancing Dna Vaccine Strateies For Enhanced Immune Protection In Piglets, Danh Cong Lai

School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Maternally derived antibodies (MDAs) play a vital role in protecting neonates from infectious diseases, but their presence at the time of vaccination can interfere with vaccine-induced immune responses, thereby reducing vaccine effectiveness. MDA interference has been documented in pigs vaccinated with whole inactivated virus (WIV) vaccines against swine influenza A virus (IAV). In this thesis, we evaluated the efficacy of a lipid nanoparticle encapsulated DNA (LNP-DNA) vaccine against swine IAV in the presence and absence of MDAs, comparing it to a WIV vaccine. In MDA-negative piglets, both the LNP-DNA and WIV vaccines induced strong immune responses and effectively prevented the …

A Brief Guide To Statistical Analysis Of Grouped Data In Preclinical Research, Colby J Vorland, Lilian Golzarri-Arroyo, David B Allison

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Clustering and nesting (C&N) arise in many preclinical studies such as when animals are group-housed, share litters, or in cell culture. Ignoring C&N undermines the validity of analyses. We explain how C&N arise and valid designs and analyses.

Bibliometric Analysis Of Congenital Toxoplasmosis: A Ten-Year (2013-2023) Review Of Research Publications, Festus Mulakoli, Horatius Musembi, Ann Kimani

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

Background:Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular protozoan, infects more than one-third of the global population and causes toxoplasmosis, which can lead to severe fetal complications in pregnant women. The global prevalence of latent toxoplasmosis in pregnant women is 33.8%, with regional variations and risk factors, including the consumption of undercooked meat, exposure to cat feces, and consumption of contaminated water. Pregnant women lack sufficient awareness of these risk factors, necessitating enhanced education, regular screening, and counseling during antenatal care for early detection and management.

Aim: This study performed a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of research on congenital toxoplasmosis published between 2013 …

Automated Mycoplasma Genitalium Molecular Macrolide Resistance Detection And Nucleic Acid Target Semi-Quantitation: Patient Demographic Considerations, Josephine Moore, Trinity Krueger, Amanda Zapp, Stephen C. Lavey, Kimber L. Munson, Irene A. Stafford, Michael E. Newcomb, Brian Mustanski, Erik Munson

Clinical Lab Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Recent work has optimized parameters of a real-time reverse transcriptase PCR-based laboratory-developed test on the Panther Fusion system which detects Mycoplasma genitalium-specific macrolide resistance-associated mutations LDT (MRM-LDT) from primary swab and urine specimens. In this study, MRM-LDT was applied to a large multi-demographic study set to further characterize M. genitalium resistance in the United States. A total of 2,145 primary clinical specimens testing positive for M. genitalium 16S rRNA by transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) were initially titered by the same assay using serial 10-fold dilutions to determine relative target nucleic acid burden. Specimens were then processed for MRM-LDT. Findings were stratified …

Utility Of The Us Preventive Services Task Force For Preeclampsia Risk Assessment And Aspirin Prophylaxis, Thomas F Mcelrath, Arun Jeyabalan, Arkady Khodursky, Alison B Moe, Manfred Lee, Maneesh Jain, Laura Goetzl, Elizabeth F Sutton, Pamela M Simmons, George R Saade, Antonio Saad, Luis D Pacheco, Esther Park-Hwang, Antonina I Frolova, Ebony B Carter, Ai-Ris Y Collier, Daniel G Kiefer, Vincenzo Berghella, Rupsa C Boelig, Michal A Elovitz, Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, Joseph R Biggio, Kara Rood, William A Grobman, Carrie Haverty, Morten Rasmussen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Importance: The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines on preeclampsia risk assessment and aspirin prophylaxis (AP) have not been evaluated for clinical utility.

Objective: To evaluate which characteristics in the USPSTF guidelines identify risk status and the association of preeclampsia risk with AP recommendations.

Design, setting, and participants: This observational cohort study enrolled from July 2020 to March 2023 with data analysis performed from October to December 2024. Enrollment occurred at 11 centers throughout the US or via direct-to-participant recruitment. Pregnant participants aged 18 years or older with a singleton pregnancy less than 22 weeks' gestation were selected via …

Liger-Hn Phase Iii Trials Of Petosemtamab + Pembrolizumab And Petosemtamab Monotherapy In Recurrent Or Metastatic Hnscc, Jean-Pascal Machiels, Jérôme Fayette, Robert Haddad, Douglas Adkins, Maura Gillison, Kevin J Harrington, Sung-Bae Kim, Christophe Le Tourneau, Amanda Psyrri, Ari Rosenberg, Lillian L Siu, Makoto Tahara, William N William, Jim Ford, Shekeab Jauhari, Rebecca Pyle, Yu-Ming Shen, David Yao, Fabian Zohren, Everett Vokes

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Patients with recurrent/metastatic (r/m) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have limited treatment options and a dismal prognosis, especially when their cancer is resistant to standard treatments like anti-programmed cell death protein 1 and platinum-based therapies. Petosemtamab - a human, common light chain, bispecific antibody with enhanced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5 (LGR5) - demonstrated antitumor activity in r/m HNSCC. In many tumor types, including HNSCC, EGFR is an oncogenic driver, while LGR5 is upregulated. LGR5 can potentiate the wingless-type integration site (WNT)/β-catenin signaling pathway in response to …

Meeting Report On An Integrated Research Agenda For Mosquito-Borne Arboviruses, Angela K. Ulrich, Nicolina M. Moua, Alison Mack, Natsuko Imai-Eaton, J. Erin Staples, Angela J. Mehr, Julia T. Ostrowsky, Tabitha Leighton, Ana Cehovin, Petra C. Fay, Josephine P. Golding, Emma Maynard, Luke Alphey, Diana P. Rojas Alvarez, Lark L. Coffey, Nuno R. Faria, Rafael Maciel-De-Freitas, Kevin Maringer, Kris A. Murray, Henrik Salje, Rosemary Sang, Pedro F.C. Vasconcelos, Yee Sin Leo, Steven P. Sinkins, Jocelyne Neto De Vasconcelos, Samuel K. Dadzie, Eva Harris, Thais H. Dos Santos, Raman Velayudhan

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The emergence and re-emergence of mosquito-borne arbovirus (MBV) diseases pose a rapidly expanding global health threat fueled by the convergence of multiple ecologic, economic, and social factors, including climate change, land use, poverty, deficiencies of water storage and sanitation, and limitations of vector control programs. On December 6, 2023, the Wellcome Trust and the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy held a meeting titled "An integrated approach to mosquito-borne arboviruses: a priority research agenda."The meeting comprised presentations, panels, and facilitated discussions aimed at describing the state of the field, highlighting recent accomplishments, identifying novel strategies, and …

Spatially Resolved Transcriptomic Profiles Of Placental Cell Populations In Placental Malaria, Corina A. Mong

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Malaria remains a prevalent infectious disease that continues to cause disease-related morbidity and mortality. Despite preventative efforts, malarial pregnancies still cause birth complications, therefore emphasizing the necessity to study these adverse outcomes in malarial pregnancy. Malaria in pregnancy can lead to placental malaria (PM), which is the presence and accumulation of Plasmodium-infected red blood cells in the placental intervillous space (IVS). Even after treatment, past PM (presence of hemozoin crystals from the parasite in the placenta) can cause a chronic inflammatory response. We predicted that the activation states of the maternal monocytes and fetal macrophages differ within the placenta and …