Today we inaugurated the 1st Annual Gordon Archer Infectious Diseases, Microbiology and Immunology Research Day, in honor of renowned researcher Dr. Gordon Archer, now Professor Emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University.
The idea of having a dedicated, integrated research day arouse only several months ago. With the support of the VCU Department of Medicine and the Dean of the VCU School of Medicine, along with my colleagues in Allergy/Immunology (Dr. Larry Schwartz) and Microbiology (Dr. Dennis Ohman), we were able to pull it off.
A special thanks and kudos to my administrative assistants, Peggy Andrews and Krystle Shaw, for doing the hard part, actually organizing the event from start to finish. Invaluable.
The ultimate goal was to learn from each other and to develop new collaborations.
Mission accomplished.
Below are images from the event along with the roster of presentations.
Presentations and Posters- 2015:
The idea of having a dedicated, integrated research day arouse only several months ago. With the support of the VCU Department of Medicine and the Dean of the VCU School of Medicine, along with my colleagues in Allergy/Immunology (Dr. Larry Schwartz) and Microbiology (Dr. Dennis Ohman), we were able to pull it off.
A special thanks and kudos to my administrative assistants, Peggy Andrews and Krystle Shaw, for doing the hard part, actually organizing the event from start to finish. Invaluable.
The ultimate goal was to learn from each other and to develop new collaborations.
Mission accomplished.
Below are images from the event along with the roster of presentations.
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| Dr. Archer is recognized by Dean Strauss |
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| Plenary Session |
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| Plenary Session- Dr. Sean Evans |
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| Plenary Session- Dr. Rebecca Martin |
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| Poster Session |
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| Poster Session |
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| Award plaque for Dr. Archer |
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| Plenary Session- Dr. Amy Pakyz |
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| With Peggy Andrews, Krystle Shaw and Nadia Masroor |
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| VCU Division of ID Administrative Staff (L to R) - Peggy Andrews and Krystle Shaw |
Presentations and Posters- 2015:
8:00-8:45 AM- Breakfast
8:45- 8:55 AM- Dean Strauss recognizing Dr. Gordon Archer
8:55- 9:00 AM Opening Comments by Dr. Gonzalo Bearman
9:00- 10:20 AM- 4 Presentations, 20 minutes each
- Amy Pakyz, PharmD. – “Impact of High-risk Medication Usage on Healthcare facility-onset C. difficile Infection”
- Gail Christie (PI, Microbiology-Immunology)- The Prp protease – a novel target for antibiotic development in S. aureus and other Gram-positive pathogens
- Lawrence Schwartz- “Tryptase and its ongoing story”
- Yoshi Fukuoka (Lawrence Schwartz)-" Effects of the angiotensin and bradykinin pathways on human mast cells."
10:20- 10:40 AM- Break
10:40 AM-12:00 PM- 4 Presentations, 20 minutes each
- Michelle Doll, M.D. (Gonzalo Bearman/Mike Stevens)– “PPE training perceptions/beliefs”
- Sean Evans (Carlyon Lab, Microbology-Immunology)- “The obligate intracellular pathogen, Orientia tsutsugamushi, modulates NF-κB via secreted effectors, Ank1 and Ank6”
- Rebecca Martin (Conrad Lab, Microbiology-Immuno) – “Is helminth-induced B1 IgE protective against allergic disease?”
- Greg Buck (PI, Microbiology-Immuno) – Overview of microbiome projects and the technologies available.
12:00-1:00 PM- Lunch/ Posters
1:00-2:20 PM- 4 Presentations, 20 minutes each
- Anne Masich, PharmD. Candidate 2016 (Patricia Fulco) – “Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infections”
- Betty A. Forbes, PhD, D(ABMM) & Christopher D. Doern, PhD - “Using Mass Spectrometry to Define the Clinical Significance of Alloscardovia omnicolens”
- Mike McVoy- “Cytomegalovirus shed in urine is insensitive to antibody neutralization”
- Sahar Lotfi-Emran (Lawrence Schwartz)- “Interferon gamma enhances mast cell ability to activate CD4+ T cell response to cytomegalovirus”
2:20-2:45 PM- Break
2:45- 4:05 PM- 4 Presentations, 20 minutes each
- Nadia Masroor, Project Coordinator (Gonzalo Bearman/Mike Stevens) – “HH Technologies”
- Dan Nixon, Director, VCU HIV/AIDS Center – “Effects of Statins on Biomarkers of Inflammation and Immune Activation in Virologically Suppressed Individuals with HIV”
- Brant Ward (Lawrence Schwartz)- “Antigen uptake and processing by human mast cells, a new paradigm”
- Dan Markley (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman)- “A Survey to Inform and Optimize the Design of an Antimicrobial Stewardship & Infectious Disease Smartphone App at an Academic Medical Center”
4:05- 4:15 PM- Conclusion
Posters in Infectious Diseases:
- Laura Pederson (Gonzalo Bearman/Mike Stevens) – “Hand Hygiene in the OR” & “Endoscopy Procedure Suites”
- Nadia Masroor (Gonzalo Bearman/Mike Stevens) – “The Association of Climate Temperature and Bare Below Elbow Compliance”
- Matt Nottingham (Gonzalo Bearman/Mike Stevens)- “UV-C Light as a Means of Disinfecting the Anesthesia Workstation”
- Salma Abbas Muhammad (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman) - Station-Based Honduras Outreach Trip Education Project.
- Jason Cook (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman) - Impact of Chlorination of a Gravity Operated Water Distribution System on Clinical Incidence of Diarrhea and Fecal Contamination in Rural Honduras
- Nathaniel Warner (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman)- “Investigating the Impact of Dengue and Chikungunya in a Rural Population in Yoro, Honduras”
- Jennifer Dinnel (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman) - "Barriers to Breast Cancer Screening in Paraiso, Dominican Republic
- Meghan Kaumaya (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman) - Cervical Cancer Screening in Developing Regions: Observations from Paraiso, an Underserved Community in the Dominican Republic
- Nehal Naik (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman) - Knowledge and Attitudes about Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infection Risk in Rural Honduras
- Soumya Murag (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman) - Dengue and Chikungunya Virus in the Dominican Republic: Knowledge, Awareness and Preventative Practices
- Lucas Potter (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman) - Biosand Filter for Use in Decentralized Water Treatment.”
- Kristina Kelly (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman) - Rainwater Catchment and Purification System for Rural Honduras
- Anita Molayi (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman) - The Effectiveness of Antimicrobial Restriction: Trends in Usage of Restricted and Unrestricted Gram-Positive Antimicrobial Agents at VCU Medical Center
- Dan Markley (Michael Stevens/Gonzalo Bearman) - "Designing the Ultimate Antibiotic App: Results of a Survey at An Academic Medical Center"
- Dan Markley (Michael Stevens//Gonzalo Bearman)- “Deploying a Novel Metric to Contextualize Overuse of Carbapenems at an Academic Tertiary Care Hospital”
Poster Presentations from Microbiology & Immunology:
- Katie R. Bradwell, Vladimir Lee, Andrey Matveyev, Myrna Serrano, and Gregory Buck (Buck Lab, Micro-Immunol). “Genome Architecture of Trypanosoma cruzi.”
- Preethi Iyengar, Myrna Serrano, Andrey Matveyev, Vishal Koparde, and Gregory Buck (Buck Lab, Micro-Immunol). The trypanosomatid mitochondrial genomes and the evolution of RNA editing in the order Kinetoplastida.
- Katie R. Bradwell, Vishal N. Koparde, Andrey V. Matveyev, Myrna G. Serrano, João M. P. Alves, Bernice Huang, Hardik Parikh, and Gregory A. Buck. “Comparative Genomics of Trypanosoma conorhini, T. rangeli, and T. cruzi.”
- Bernice Huang, Myrna Serrano, Vishal Koparde, and Gregory A. Buck (Buck Lab, Micro-Immunol). “Evolution of Trypanosoma cruzi and the Bat trypanosomes.”
- Niels Asmussen, Anita Marinelli, Myrna Serrano, Hardik Parikh, Bernice Huang, Nihar Sheth, Kim Jefferson, Jennifer Fettweis, the Vaginal Microbiome Consortium, and Gregory Buck (Buck Lab, Micro-Immunol). “Gardnerella vaginalis Types and Their Role in Vaginal Health.”
- Aminat Oki (Carlyon Lab, Micro-Immunol) - “Developing a system to efficiently transform obligate intracellular bacteria”
- Kathryn Hebert (Carlyon Lab, Micro-Immunol) - “Anaplasma marginale Outer Membrane Protein A-Receptor Interactions”
- Cheisea Cockburn (Carlyon Lab, Micro-Immunol) - “[endif]Anaplasma phagocytophilum Parasitizes Host Sphingolipids for Completion of its Replication Cycle”
- Andrea Beyer and Ryan Green (Carlyon Lab, Micro-Immunol) - “Orientia tsutsugamushi Ank9 interacts with COPB2 to Co-opt Host Cell Retrograde Traffic”
- Kyle Rodino (Carlyon Lab, Micro-Immunol) - “Pathogen induced host cell ER stress benefits the intracellular bacterium, Orientia tsutsugamushi”
- Sheela Damle (Conrad Lab, Micro-Immunol) - "The role of ADAM10 on dendritic cells in allergic disease"
- Joe Lownik (Conrad Lab, Micro-Immunol) -The importance of adam10 and adam17 on immune regulation
- Devin Cash (Cornelissen Lab, Micro-Immunol) - Transferrin-iron utilization in Neisseria gonorrhoeae as a possible target for treatment and prevention of gonorrhea.
- Abigail L. Glascock, the Vaginal Microbiome Consortium and Jennifer M. Fettweis (Fetweis Lab, Micro-Immunol), Clinical and Genomic Characterization of Two Vaginal Megasphaera Species
- Nicole R Jimenez, the Vaginal Microbiome Consortium, and Jennifer M Fettweis (Fetweis Lab, Micro-Immunol), Characterization of Bifidobacterium breve Strains in the Vaginal Microbiome
- Hien Dang*, Dylan N. David*, Suryanaren Kummarapurugu*, Abigail L. Glascock, Sarah K. Rozycki, Nicole R. Jimenez, Alan Alves, Jennifer M. Fettweis (Fetweis Lab, Micro-Immunol) - Isolation, Identification and Analysis of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium from the Human Vaginal Microbiome (*Equal contribution).
- Naren GK, Daniel Contaifer, Dayanjan S. Wijesinghe and Kimberly Jefferson (Jefferson Lab, Micro-Immunol) - "Role of Staphylococcus aureus lipases in delaying wound healing”
- Ayana Scott-Elliston (Lee Lab, Obstetrics Gyn & Micro-Immunol) - "Determination of HLA-C and KIR gene association to preeclampsia."
- Eun Lee (PI, Obstetrics Gyn & Micro-Immunol) - “Expression of ERAP2 Variant plus HLA-C in trophoblast Cells Activates Immune Response and Increases CD3-CD69+ cells.”
- Hussein Aqbi (Manjili Lab, Micro-Immunol) - “Treatment-induced tumor dormancy”
- Jerilyn Izac (Marconi Lab, Micro-Immunol) – Title TBA.
- Lee Oliver (Marconi Lab, Micro-Immunol) – Title TBA.
- Mike McVoy (PI, Pediatircs / Micro-Immunol)- “A Vaxfectin®-formulated DNA Vaccine Induces Antibodies that Block Cytomegalovirus Entry into Fibroblasts and Epithelial Cells”
- Eliezer Diaz (Ohman Lab, Micro-Immunol) - “Discovering a novel way to inhibit alginate production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa via a drug screen of a chemical library.”
- Jing Yang (Zhou Lab, Micro-Immunol) -”Taurocholate Induces Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression via the Sphingosine 1-phosphate Receptor 2 in a Human Cholangiocarcinoma Cell Line”
- Mike Hinton (Zhou Lab, Micro-Immunol) - “Alcohol Potentiates HIV protease inhibitor-induced ER stress and hepatic lipotoxicity”
- Jing Yang (Zhou Lab, Micro-Immunol) -”Taurocholate Induces Cyclooxygenase-2 Expression via the Sphingosine 1-phosphate Receptor 2 in a Human Cholangiocarcinoma Cell Line”
- Mike Hinton (Zhou Lab, Micro-Immunol) - “Alcohol Potentiates HIV protease inhibitor-induced ER stress and hepatic lipotoxicity”
