- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Doctoral research
Her doctoral research was on the host immune response to Leishmania parasites, which provided her valuable experience in mammalian Immunology, as well as a solid background in parasitology and molecular biology. Specifically, her dissertation project focused on the central memory CD4+ T cells generated in response to Leishmania major infection. During her graduate studies, she also attended the prestigious Biology of Parasitism summer course at the Woods Hole Marine Biology Labs. "The course significantly improved my basic knowledge of Parasitology, but also allowed me to work with a variety of parasites, including Plasmodium."
Postdoctoral Research
After completing her doctorate, Pakpour accepted a post-doctoral position in Shirley Luckhart's laboratory at UC Davis. "The laboratory is broadly interested in understanding how the inflammatory factors present in human blood affect malaria parasite transmission," Pakpour noted. In joining the lab, Pakpour shifted from her previous work on adaptive immune responses in mice to the innate immune response of mosquitoes to malaria parasite infection. "In doing so, I have mastered a new body of literature and a broad range of new techniques, including insect cell culture, in vitro cell signaling assays, and culturing of P. falciparum for mosquito infection studies. Further, I adapted our mammalian cell signaling assays for use in mosquito tissues."
Her research goal is to elucidate the bidirectional effects of malaria on Type 2 diabetes and of Type 2 diabetes on malaria. "By 2030, one in five adults on the African continent will have Type 2 diabetes, resulting in epidemic co-morbidity of these diseases," Pakpour said. "Therefore, a better understanding of the intersection of malaria infection and Type 2 diabetes will be critical for the development of future clinical interventions to reduce the burden of Type 2 diabetes complications as well as malaria transmission."
Pakpour's honors include a McBeth Memorial Entomology Scholarship, Presidential Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Research Fellowship. She received a traineeship in Cell and Molecular Biology (5-T32-GM-07229-32) from 2002-2004 as well as a traineeship in Parasitology: Modern Approaches (5-T32-AI-007532-09) from 2004-2008. In addition, she was a finalist for the UC Davis Award for Post-doctoral Excellence in 2012 and was named an American Society for Microbiology & Burroughs/Wellcome Fund Science Teaching Fellow, 2013-2014.
Pakpour is a member of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Association for Women in Science (AWIS) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).
Her recent publications include:
1. DrexlerAL, PietriJE, Pakpour N, HauckE, WangB, GlennonEKK, GeorgisM, RiehleMA, LuckhartS. (2014) Human IGF1 regulates midgut oxidative stress and epithelial homeostasis to balance lifespan and Plasmodium falciparum resistance in Anopheles stephensi. PLoS Pathogens (under review)
2. Pakpour N, Camp L, Smithers HM, Wang B, Tu Z, Adler SA, Luckhart SL. (2013) Protein kinase C-dependent signaling controls the midgut epithelial barrier to malaria parasite infection in anopheline mosquitoes. PLoS One. 8(10): e76535.
3. Vodovotz Y, Azhar N, Miskov-Zivanov N, Buliga M, Zamora R, Ermentrout B, Constantine G, Faeder J, Pakpour N, Luckhart S. Modeling host-vector-pathogen immuno-inflammatory interactions in malaria., in: G. An and Y. Vodovotz (Ed.), Complex Systems and Computational Biology Approaches to Acute Inflammation. Springer Science & Business Media, New York, NY. 2013. 265-279.
4. Chau JY, Lawrence JA, Tiffany CM, Mooney JP, Lokken KL, Pakpour N, Tsolis RM, Luckhart S. (2013) Malaria-associated L-Arginine deficiency induces mucosal mast cell-dependent disruption to the intestinal barrier defenses against non-typhoidal Salmonella bacteremia. Infect Immun. 81(10):3515-26.
5. Hauck E, Antonova-Koch Y, Drexler A, Pietri J, Pakpour N, Liu D, Blacutt J, Riehle MA, Luckhart S. (2013) Overexpression of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) improves fitness and decreases Plasmodium falciparum development in Anopheles stephensi. Microbes Infect. 15(12):775–787.
6. Pakpour N, Akman-Anderson L, Luckhart SL. (2013) The effects of ingested human blood factors on arthropod immunity and physiology. Microbes Infect 15: 243-254.
7. Luckhart SL, Giulivi C, Drexler AL, Antonova-Koch Y, Sakaguchi D, Napoli E, Wong S, Price MS, Eigenheer R, Phinney BS, Pakpour N, Pietri JE, Cheung K, Georgis M, and Riehle M. (2013) Sustained Activation of Akt elicits mitochondrial dysfunction to block Plasmodium falciparum infection in the mosquito host. PLoS Pathog 9(2): e1003180.
8. Pakpour N, Corby-Harris V, Green G, Smithers H, Cheung KW, Riehle MA, Luckhart SL. (2012) Ingested human insulin inhibits the mosquito innate immune response to Plasmodium falciparum. Infect Immun. 80(6):2141-9
9. Surachetpong W*, Pakpour N*, Cheung KW, and Luckhart SL. (2011) Reactive oxygen species-dependent cell signaling regulates the mosquito immune response to Plasmodium falciparum. Antioxidant & Redox signaling. (6):943-55. (*these authors contributed equally to this manuscript)
10. Pakpour N, Cheung KW, Souvannaseng L, Concordet JP and Luckhart SL. (2010) Transfection and mutagenesis of target genes in mosquito cells by locked nucleic-acid modified oligonucleotides. J Vis Exp. (46): e2355.
11. Corby-Harris V, Drexler A, Watkins de Jong L, Antonova Y, Pakpour N, Ziegler R, Ramberg F, Lewis EE, Brown JM, Luckhart SL, and Riehle, MA. (2010) A novel strategy for controlling malaria transmission in the mosquito Anopheles stephensi. PLoS Pathogens. 6(7):e1001003.
12. Liu D, Kebaier C, Pakpour N, Beverley SM, Scott P, Uzonna JE. (2009) Leishmania major phosphoglycans influence the host early immune response by modulating dendritic cell functions. Infect Immun. 77(8):3272-83.
13. Pakpour N, Zaph C, Scott P. (2008) CD4+ T cells in Leishmania major are non-polarized and require IL-12 to become Th1 effector cells. J Immunol. 180:8299-8305.
14. Margolis TP, Elfman FL, Leib D, Pakpour N, Apakupakul K, Imai Y, Voytek C. (2007) Spontaneous reactivation of HSV-1 in latently infected murine sensory ganglia. J Virol. 81(20):11069-74.
15. Miller K, Pakpour N, Yi E, Melese M, Alemayehu W, Bird M, Schmidt G, Cevallos V, Olinger L, Chidambaram J, Gaynor B, Whitcher J, Lietman T. (2004) Pesky trachoma suspect finally caught. Br J Ophthalmol. 88 (6):750-1.
16. Massey HC Jr, Nishi M, Chaudhary K, Pakpour N, Lok JB. (2003) Structure and developmental expression of Strongyloides stercoralis fktf-1, a proposed ortholog of daf-16 in Caenorhabditis elegans. Int J Parasitol. 33(13):1537-44.
17. Luo EJ, Pakpour N, Huang EJ. (2001) Control of mouse sensory neuron development by Brn-3a and homeodomain interacting protein kinase 2. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol.60(5):513-513.
Assistant professor Brian Johnson coordinated the winter quarter seminars. He may be reached at brnjohnson@ucdavis.edu for more information.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
His project, “Understanding a Landmark Social Insect Radiation: Comparative Analysis, Phylogenomics and Morphology of Dorylomorph Ants,” is a two-year grant funded for $19,932.
“Army ants are some of the most striking organisms found in warm temperate and tropical regions of the world,” Borowiec wrote in his abstract. “They are the most important invertebrate predators of the tropics, making them key species in rainforest ecosystems. This research will reconstruct the evolutionary history of army ants and their close relatives. The family tree of these ants, their geographic origins and the timeline of the evolution of traits that account for their ecological dominance will be investigated.”
Borowiec will construct an evolutionary tree from the ants' DNA, using latest advances in molecular biology and bioinformatics. “This tree will then serve as a framework for testing hypotheses on the evolution of army ant characteristics,” he wrote. “This study will also provide a new framework for identification of army ants and closely related species.”
“This project will not only bring insights into the history of an ecologically important group of insects but also help to understand how the latest advances in molecular biology, statistics and computer science can improve our knowledge of evolutionary processes. New resources allowing easier and more accurate identification of these ants will aid other biologists and conservation specialists in decision making and planning further research on the group.”
Borowiec, who has studied with major professor Phil Ward since September 2010, received his master's degree, with honors, in zoology in 2009 from the University of Wroclaw, Poland. His thesis focused on the taxonomy of Cerapachys sexspinus group. He received his bachelor of science degree, with honors, in biological sciences/zoology in 2007, also from the University of Wrocław.
He has published his peer-reviewed research in ZooKeys, Journal of Hymenoptera Research Myrmecological News and Polish Journal of Entomology, among others.
Among his mostly published research:
Snelling R.S., Borowiec M.L., Prebus M.M. 2014. Studies on California ants: new species in the genus Temnothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). ZooKeys, 372: 27-89.
Johnson B.R., Borowiec M.L., Chiu J.C., Lee E.K., Atallah J.,Ward P.S. 2013. Phylogenomics resolves the puzzle of evolutionary relationships among ants, bees, and wasps. ZooKeys 23:2058-2062.
Borowiec M.L., Borowiec L. 2013. New data on the occurrence of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Lower Silesia and other regions of Poland [in Polish with English summary] Wiadomości Entomologiczne,32:49-57.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
DAVIS--Graduate student researcher Sean Kodani of the Bruce Hammock lab, University of California, Davis, has received a fellowship to study omega 3 fatty acids.
The fellowship is from the Center for Content Rich Evaluation of Therapeutic Efficacy (cCRETE), headed by Katherine Ferrara, a distinguished professor and director of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and a newly selected member of the National Academy of Engineering.
The center, cCRETE (pronounced "secrete") is part of the Research Investments in Science and Engineering (RISE) Program.
Kodani's projects will involve continuing the work of Guodong Zhang, who recently received a faculty position at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. While at Davis, Zhang found that metabolites of omega 3 fatty acids reduced angiogenesis, tumor growth and tumor metastasis. "I will be focusing on the specific pathways involved in this phenomena while also investigating the biological activity of other omega 3 metabolites," Kodani said.
"When I first rotated in Dr. Hammock's laboratory I mostly synthesized inhibitors for the enzyme soluble epoxide hydrolase, which is the primary target investigated in our laboratory," Kodani said. "However, my background is stronger in biology and biochemistry than synthetic chemistry, so when I joined the laboratory this was a project where I could incorporate all of those skills."
Kodani, from Orangevale, received his bachelor's degree in molecular toxicology and environmental sciences from UC Berkeley in 2012.
In addition to Ferrara, the leadership of cCRETE includes
- Steven C. Currall, dean and professor of Management Graduate School of Management
- Ralph deVere White, director of the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and distinguished professor of Urology
- Fredric Gorin, professor and chair of the Department Neurology
- Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology with a jointappointment in the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Alexander Revzin, associate professor. Department of Biomedical Engineering, and
- Clifford Tepper, associate research biochemist, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
The center focuses on assays of cell-secreted factors in vitro and in vivo, including exosomes, peroxide, and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Cell secreted factors are of interest in 1) gauging the response to therapy with new drugs and 2) the development of an understanding of cell-to-cell communication. The “rich” content to be assessed to understand the impact of cell secretions goes beyond the quantification of traditional markers such as proliferation and apoptosis to evaluate markers of invasive potential, inflammation, “stem-ness,” autophagy and metabolic pathways.
"With respect to the response to therapy, the cost of bringing a new drug to market is now estimated to exceed $1 billion, with the timeline for developing a drug and getting it to market approaching 15 years," according to the website. "During the next 4 years, 9 of the top 10 and 18 of the top 20 best-selling drugs in the world will go off patent. A major challenge for the pharmaceutical industry is their lack of tools to identify promising candidates and to separate the winners from the losers early in the development process. Such tools have the potential to substantially reduce the cost to market for new drugs. To address the critical need for screening tools, a team of cancer biologists, social scientists, bioinformatics experts and bioengineers has formed a single disciplinary group to develop and validate biomarker assays for the effect of new therapeutics.
"In addition, members of the group (Hammock, Gorin, Ferrara) have developed novel therapeutics that effectively inhibit key pathways in cancer and atherosclerosis; the success of these new therapeutics will require biomarkers, which are one focus of our team. Therefore, one important problem to be solved is the creation of high throughput and content rich assays to summarize the impact of therapeutics on cellular functionality. We are developing in vitro cell microsystems where micropatterned co-cultures of cancer and non-cancer cells are juxtaposed with arrays of sensing elements for monitoring downstream readouts of cell-drug interactions. Further, we are developing and applying in vivo imaging approaches to assess specific targets and efficacy."
Hammock holds a joint appointment in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. He directs the campuswide Superfund Research Program, National Institutes of Health Biotechnology Training Program, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Combined Analytical Laboratory.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
DAVIS--Cancer biology researcher Amy Rand, a postdoctoral researcher in the Bruce Hammock lab at the University of California, Davis. has been selected a fellow in the T32 Postdoctoral Training Program in Oncogenic Signals and Chromosome Biology.
“I will be looking at how metabolites of omega-3 fatty acids can protect against cancer,” Rand said. “A previous researcher in the Hammock lab was the first to find a specific metabolite that inhibited the formation of blood vessels which then suppressed the formation and spread of tumors. I aim to further explore the specific mechanism that links omega-3 fatty acid metabolism and their anti-cancer activity.”
“Omega-3 fatty acids are increasingly being used as dietary supplements, and are marketed for their many beneficial health effects,” she said, in explaining the significance of the project. “This research will help us to further clarify the specific relationship between the dietary exposure to and metabolism of omega-3 fatty acids and their role in the regulation of certain cancers.”
Wolf-Dietrich Heyer, professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and director of the T32 Training Grant in Oncogenic Signals and Chromosome Biology, praised Rand for her excellent qualifications, research plan and presentation. "We are confident that your postdoctoral studies in Dr. Hammock's laboratory will lead to significant new insights in cancer biology."
Her future goals? “I have a growing interest in research that lies at the interface between chemistry and biology. Becoming an academic researcher is something I would love to pursue; it would be a fantastic opportunity to explore the relationship between the dietary exposure and metabolism of chemical substances and their corresponding biological activity.”
Long interested in a scientific career, Rand said she's had several inspiring teachers, who played “a big role in my developed interest in the sciences. Becoming a scientist was attractive to me because you use a combination of critical thinking, observation, creativity, and patience to answer important questions. It's very satisfying to work hard at accomplishing a piece of the research puzzle, and then communicating the story that surrounds its significance.”
Rand, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, received bachelor degrees in music and chemistry from Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, in 2007 and her doctorate in environmental chemistry from the University of Toronto in 2013.
Hammock holds a joint appointment in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. He directs the campuswide Superfund Research Program, National Institutes of Health Biotechnology Training Program, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Combined Analytical Laboratory.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
His abstract:
Shelomi received his bachelor's degree in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University in 2009, and immediately after started his Ph.D program at UC Davis under Lynn Kimsey of the Bohart Museum.
His work in Davis is funded by the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship program. He has also twice won the National Science Foundation's East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes fellowship: once to work in the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences in Tsukuba, Japan, and once to work in Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan.
Shelomi served as a teaching assistant for Bob Kimsey's forensic entomology class, but also co-taught his own freshman seminar with Lynn Kimsey on "Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design." He has given guest lectures for Entomology 10 "Natural History of Insects"; Entomology 100 "Introduction to Entomology"; and Entomology 102 "Insect Physiology."
He has presented at numerous meetings of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) and the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America (PBESA) and also organized or co-organized four symposia at those meetings. He participates in the ESA's Linnaean Games and Student Debate teams. For his work with ESA and outside it, he won a John Henry Comstock Award in 2013. In addition, he has given a workshop at the 2012 International Conference on Science in Society, and received first place for his talk this past summer at the International Congress of Orthopterology in Kunming, China.
Shelomi's research has been spotlighted in the Sacramento Bee, California Aggie, DavisPatch, plus blogs and vlogs like LiveScience, PHD TV, and Breaking Bio. He also answers entomology and biology questions on Quora.com, where he has been a top writer for two consecutive years. His Quora answers have been posted to HuffPost and Slate. He won a "Shorty" social media award for his post "If you injure a bug, should you kill it or let it live?"
His publications from graduate school include:
M. Shelomi, W.C. Jasper, J. Atallah, L.S. Kimsey, B.R. Johnson. “How Sticks Eat Leaves: Re-evaluating Invertebrate Herbivory.” Manuscript Submitted for Publication.
M. Shelomi, H. Watanabe, G. Arakawa. (2014) “Endogenous Cellulase Enzymes in the Stick Insect (Phasmatodea) Gut.” Journal of Insect Physiology. 60: 25-30. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2013.10.007
M. Shelomi, L.S. Kimsey. (2013) “Vital Staining of the Stick Insect Digestive System Identifies Appendices of the Midgut as Novel System of Excretion.” Journal of Morphology. ePub before print. doi: 10.1002/jmor.20243
M. Shelomi. (2013) “Ants and the Humans Who Love Them in Bernard Werber's Les Fourmis Trilogy.” American Entomologist. 59(4): 208-213.
M. Shelomi, W-S Lo, L.S. Kimsey, C-H Kuo. (2013) “Analysis of the Gut Microbiota of Walking Sticks (Phasmatodea).” BMC Research Notes. 6: 368. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-6-368. PMID: 24025149
M. Shelomi. (2013) “Mad Scientist: The Unique Case of a Published Delusion” Science and Engineering Ethics. 19(2): 381-388. doi: 10.1007/s11948-011-9339-2. PMID: 22173734
M. Shelomi. (2013) “Evidence of Photo Manipulation in a Delusional Parasitosis Paper.” Journal of Parasitology. 99(3): 583-585. doi: 10.1645/12-12.1 PMID: 23198757
M. Shelomi. (2012) “Where are we now? Bergmann's Rule sensu lato in Insects.” American Naturalist. 180(4), 511-519. PMID: 22976013
M. Shelomi, Andrew Richards, Ivana Li, Yukinari Okido. (2012) “A Phylogeny and Evolutionary History of the Pokémon.” Annals of Improbable Research, 18(4): 15-17.
M. Shelomi, L. Matern, D. Harris, J. Dinsdall, R. Kimsey. (2012) “DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide) Induced Delay of Blowfly Landing and Oviposition Rates on Treated Pig Carrion (Sus scrofa L.).” Journal of Forensic Science. 57(6): 1507-1511. doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2012.
M. Shelomi. (2011) “Phasmid Eggs Do Not Survive Digestion by Quails and Chickens” Journal of Orthoptera Research. 20(2): 159-162. PMID: 22515377
M. Shelomi. (2012) “Book Review: Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo.” Pan-Pacific Entomologist. 87(4): 300-301.M. Shelomi. (2011) “Phasmid Eggs Do Not Survive Digestion by Quails and Chickens” Journal of Orthoptera Research. 20(2): 159-162. PMID: 22515377