Microbiology welcomes new faculty member
Meet Jessica Scoffield, Ph.D., a microbiologist that studies the role of commensal bacteria in polymicrobial pulmonary and oral infections. Dr. Scoffield's research has led to the discovery of novel mechanisms used by commensal bacteria that interfere with the pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a multidrug resistant pathogen that causes deadly lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients.
Press release from Microbiology’s lay writing workshop
The microbiology department held a three day writing seminar for UAB students and postdoctoral employees on May 14-16, 2018. The purpose of which was to teach graduate students and post‐docs how to effectively communicate science to a lay audience. The department invited Dr. Nicki LeBrasseur, the senior director of scientific communications at DNA Communications to instruct the on and off campus portions of the course. The students were tasked with writing a press release on an assigned paper and were given feedback. Rachel Andrews (Wolshendorf’s lab) participated in the workshop and her article featured below reviews “The roles of SaPI1 proteins gp7 (CpmA) and gp6 (CpmB) in capsid size determination and helper phage interference.” by Damle PK et al.
7th Annual Southeastern Immunology Symposium
The UAB School of Medicine held the 7th Annual Southeastern Immunology Symposium (SIS) on June 16 and 17 at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel and Medical Forum. This year's meeting was organized by Dr. Fran Lund. The primary goal of the meeting is to bring together researchers throughout the South and Southeastern US who are learning to harness the power of the immune system in order to protect us from infections and cancer as well as a host of other chronic autoimmune, allergic and inflammatory diseases. Click here to view the photo gallery. Photo credit: Dustin Massey
UAB immunology leader speaks at Unite To Cure — the Fourth International Conference in The Vatican
Frances Lund, Ph.D., has been invited to the Fourth International Vatican Conference, “Unite To Cure: How Science, Technology and 21st Century Medicine Will Impact Culture and Society,” which meets in Vatican City this week. Read more...
$2 million investment boosts UAB biomedical spinoff
A $2 million investment is the latest step forward for the biomedical startup CNine Biosolutions LLC, which is headed by former University of Alabama at Birmingham postdoctoral fellow Theresa Schein, Ph.D., and retired UAB microbiology professor Scott Barnum, Ph.D. This funding comes from a Denver angel investor group.
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Niederweis elected to fellowship in the AAM
Dr. Michael Niederweis, Professor of Microbiology, has been elected to Fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM). According to the AAM "over the last 50 years, 2,500 distinguished scientists have been elected to the Academy. Fellows are elected through a highly selective, annual, peer review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology. A Committee on Elections, consisting of Fellows of the Academy who are elected by the membership, reviews all nominations for Fellowship and recommends to the Board of Governors what action should be taken. Each elected Fellow has built an exemplary career in basic and applied research, teaching, clinical and public health, industry or government service. Election to Fellowship indicates recognition of distinction in microbiology by one’s peers. Over 200 Academy Fellows have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, while many have also been honored with Nobel Prizes, Lasker Awards, and the National Medal of Science".
GBS students present at 2017 David E. Wells Memorial Symposium
The UAB Department of Microbiology hosted the inaugural David E. Wells Memorial Symposium on December 14, 2017. The event kicked off with talks by five selected graduate students in the Department of Microbiology who competed for the David E. Wells Scholarship. The students (pictured below from left to right) are Tyler Stewart (Novak/Renfrow labs), Michael Schultz (Lund lab), Anukul Shenoy (Orihuela lab), Danielle Chisolm (Weinmann Lab) and Johua Justice (Thompson lab). The student presentations were followed by the keynote presentation entitled "Genomic control mechanisms that establish T-cell identity", which was presented by Dr. Ellen Rothenberg, Albert Billings Ruddock Professor of Biology at California Institute of Technology. This was the first symposium held in memory of Dr. David E. Wells, a former graduate student in the UAB Department of Microbiology. Family members of Dr. Wells were in attendance for this special event including Dr. Kathy Hancock, who was married to Dr. Wells. Dr. Hancock presented Joshua Justice with the David E. Wells Scholarship at the close of the symposium.
Grad student Josh Justice wins Ellen Fanning Memorial Award at ASM meeting
Josh Justice in Dr. Sunnie Thompson's lab won “The Ellen Fanning Memorial Award for generating discussion" at the ASM meeting on Viral Manipulation of Nuclear Processes in Charleston, SC on December 3-6.
Birmingham Medical News features Lund and West’s efforts to address inflammation and chronic disease
Inflammation becomes a surprising common feature, not only in chronic immune disease, but also in chronic neurological disease.
Microbiology’s Dokland named ASM Distinguished Lecturer
Terje Dokland, Ph.D., of the University of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Microbiology, has been named an American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer for 2017-2019. Dokland, a UAB associate professor, studies the structural biology of viral assembly and bacterial pathogenicity, using tools like cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography.
Beginning July 1, he will join a group of scientifically diverse lecturers who speak at American Society for Microbiology Branch meetings throughout the United States. Frances Lund, Ph.D., UAB chair of Microbiology, called Dokland’s appointment “a national honor.”
Read moreGenetic clues to kidney disease uncovered
Using international genomic studies backed by proof-of-concept cell experiments, researchers have identified two genes that contribute to the chronic kidney disease glomerulonephritis.This provides new genetic clues to understanding IgA nephropathy, an autoimmune kidney disease that commonly causes kidney failure. The findings are relevant to IgA nephropathy and other diseases with similar underlying molecular defects, such as inflammatory bowel disease, certain types of blood disease and cancer.
“Very little is known about the causes of IgA nephropathy, genetic or otherwise, so our discovery represents an important step toward developing better therapies for this disease,” said lead author Krzysztof Kiryluk, M.D., the Herbert Irving Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columba University Medical Center. Read more
Majoring in defense: UAB’s new Undergraduate Immunology Program
It doesn’t matter whether you live in Beverly Hills or a Brazilian favela — every human being is only a few inches away from disaster. From birth to death, on our arms, legs and everywhere else, each of us carries microbes that would love to get under our skin and reproduce, with potentially fatal results. A paper cut, an insect bite, an untimely rubbing of the eyes — it takes very little for bacteria, viruses and other invaders to get inside and start wreaking havoc.
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Three UAB faculty members selected as fellows by world’s largest general scientific society
Faculty members from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s College of Arts and Sciences and School of Medicine have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.The AAAS is the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its Science family of journals.
Charles Amsler, Ph.D., professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biology, Steven Austad, Ph.D., distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Biology, and David Briles, Ph.D., professor in the School of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology and Department of Pediatrics, are UAB’s three representatives in the 2016 class of AAAS fellows. Read more
Vaccination of newborn mice with bacteria suppresses asthma as adults
The hygiene hypothesis proposes that a 20th century surge in allergies and asthma is because people are living in increasingly hygienic environments. Rather than the rural farm life of the agricultural 19th century, families live in urban and suburban communities, have fewer children who can exchange infections, bathe and wash their hands more frequently, and use antibiotics excessively. This all means reduced infant exposure to microbes that would have tempered excessive immune reactions, such as asthma, later in life.
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Weinmann honored at promotion reception
Faculty and staff from the School of Medicine gathered Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the promotion of 22 women faculty, 10 of whom had earned the title of full professor and 12 who attained the rank of associate professor...Read more
Microbiology postdoc recognized for excellence
Shannon Kahan, a posdoc in in Dr. Allan Zajac’s lab and recent recipient of the state’s only American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellowship, knocked it out of the park during the Office of Postdoctoral Education and Postdoctoral Association celebration...
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Max D. Cooper Endowed Immunology Travel Award helping further the education and training of students focused in the field of immunology
Dr. Preeyam Patel, a recipient of the 2015 Max D. Cooper Endowed Immunology Travel Award, presented at the International Congress of Immunology in Melbourne Australia last month on how antibodies to phospholipid epitopes can inhibit the interaction of house dust mite with phosphorylcholine-specific receptors on antigen-presenting cells in the lung.
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Stealth pig cells may hold the key to treating diabetes in humans
University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers are exploring ways to wrap pig tissue with a protective coating to ultimately fight diabetes in humans. The nano-thin bilayers of protective material are meant to deter or prevent immune rejection.The ultimate goal: transplant insulin-producing cell-clusters from pigs into humans to treat Type 1 diabetes. Read more
UAB Biomarker beats gold standard in detecting brain shunt infections
In a study of children with brain shunts at Children’s of Alabama, a University of Alabama at Birmingham investigational biomarker outperformed the current “gold standard” test for detecting bacterial infections in the shunts.Read more
Micro researchers involved in studies reporting a new quality-control checkpoint in developing B cells that may affect vaccine responses.
Micro researchers involved in studies reporting a new quality-control checkpoint in developing B cells that may affect vaccine responses.Read more