MIP Faculty Spotlight:  Gerry Callahan

The intersections between the life sciences and liberal arts aren’t always entirely apparent. When thinking about the self, for example, a researcher with a background in immunology may revert to thoughts of self-defense, and the immunological cells that protect us from the microbial world around us. Meanwhile, a researcher in literature may contextualize the self using metaphysical and epistemological frameworks long described throughout human thought. Dr. Gerald Callahan has a background in both, and we spoke about the value of being able to contextualize science, using long-standing literary tools.

Callahan has written about the literary self, from the perspective of a microbiologist. His books Lousy Sex: Creating Self in an Infectious World and Between XX and XY: Intersexuality and the Myth of Two Sexes both cover the ideas surrounding self from a literary and scientific perspective. The questions of self have long held important ontological implications but using microbiology to inform those questions seems novel. Callahan is quick to point out that at least 90% of the cells that make up our bodies are bacterial, many of which have been demonstrated to affect human neurobiology. This almost makes it seem silly not to consider microbes when considering our own metaphysical selves.  

Allowing academic fields to blend is not only interesting, but as Callahan argues, better allows us to communicate what we are doing as researchers, and how we learn from it. “We’re doing interesting stuff here,” says Callahan, “the university is not an ivory tower.” Ultimately, as scientists, Callahan and I come to the agreement that communicating our work as researchers is of paramount importance. Understanding the ways we conduct research, what it tells us, and how to properly communicate is part of our jobs. “It makes for better scientists,” Callahan emphasizes.

Speaking to Dr. Callahan, one understands the importance of communicating ideas. Science is important, but it is only one tool for navigating the world around us. It may be one of the best tools we have, but being able to use it to communicate in an honest and open way should be a priority in our work.

Bridget Eklund is a Jolly Good NSF Fellow!

Congratulations to Bridget Eklund (jointly advised by Zaid Abdo and Gregg Dean) on receiving a highly competitive NSF graduate fellowship to fund her predoctoral studies.  Bridget also received an ASM Travel award to attend the ASM Microbe meeting in Atlanta this year.

We would also like to congratulate MIP students Jasmine Donkoh, Shaun Cross and Joanie Ryan for receiving an honorable mention for their NSF GRFP applications.

Congratulations!

Lakin Named GAUSSI Fellow

Congratulations to Steven Lakin in the Abdo lab for receiving a one year GAUSSI fellowship for his graduate studies.

MIP Students Recognized at the 2018 Celebrate! Colorado State Awards

Eddy Kendall received the Albert C Yates student leadership award.  This award is given to a student that has shown strong involvement, demonstrated leadership, and a commitment to upholding CSU’s values, traditions and spirit.

Megan Miller received the Martin Luther King Jr Scholarship Award.  This is given to a graduate student for outstanding achievement in academics and service to and advancement of diversity.

Congratulations!

Kendra Andrie, Mike Betley, Ben Curtis, Sam Evans, and Cait Martinez passed Phase 1 this year.

Congratulations!

Dr. Kristen Davenport was recently awarded the prestigious P.E.O. Scholar Award through nomination by a local Fort Collins P.E.O. chapter.  She was one of 100 recipients out of 741 nominated women pursuing doctoral degrees nationwide. 

Congratulations!

MIP Living Our Values Awards

Congratulations to Susan Rogers for receiving the Living our Values Award for Collaboration!

The following MIP staff received nominations for LOV Awards as well:
Paula Schaffer – Accountability
Madelein Lopez - Collaboration
Corrine Lindstadt – Innovation
FHC Business Office Support Team – Team Group Award

A Big Thank You For Making The 2018 MURALS Showcase a Great Success!

CSU hosted the Multicultural Undergraduate Research Art and Leadership Symposium.  MIP had the most participants (7) of any department in any college at CSU!  So a big thank you to all who participated in this great program. 

In particular we would like to thank the following

Faculty Mentors:
Claudia Gentry-Weeks
Sarah Kane
Justin Lee
Christie Mayo
Ashley McGrew
Julie Moreno
Glenn Telling
Mark Zabel
Jifeng Bian

Judges
Nicole Kruh-Garcia
Jennifer McLean
Julie Moreno
Rushika Perera
Erica Suchman
Carol Wilusz

Graduate Student Evaluators
Phillida Charley
Elliiot Chiu
Jasmine Donkoh

See more photos here.

Colorado Science and Engineering Fair 2018 Thank you!

We would like to thank the following MIP members for judging at the 2018 Colorado Science and Engineering. Hundreds of students from across Colorado competed in the event. 

Corey Rosenberg
Bridget Eklund
Jasmine Donkoh
Julie Moreno
Darcy Fletcher
Claudia Gentry-Weeks
Zacharia Hussain
John Patterson
Brian Geiss
Mike Mangalea
Shaun Cross
Mark Azeltine
Heather Bender
Mohammad Nurul Islam
Christine Olver
Claudia Rueckert

Megan Wise de Valdez Highlighted in Chronicle of Higher Ed

Megan Wise de Valdez, a former post doc who worked with John Carlson and Erica Suchman and is now an Associate Professor of Biology at Texas A&M at San Antonio, was showcased in the Chronicle of Higher Education in March. The article discussed ways to help 1st generation college students succeed and Megan's work with students on studying the breeding patterns of mosquitoes in Texas that carry Zika & West Nile viruses. Read the whole article here.

MIP Launches New Research Teams Initiative

We are pleased to announce the official rollout of the MIP Research Teams Initiative, a formalized effort to promote effective research and mentoring experiences for student researchers. See the guide for full details.

Research mentors who would like to receive transcripted credit for their efforts that can also be applied to TILT’s teaching certificate  can enroll in a free mentoring course offered through CSU’s The Institute for Learning and Teaching (TILT) beginning May 22. 

Upcoming Changes for the Admin Support Team: Audrey is going up the river......

Audrey Oberlin recently announced that she will be leaving her position effective August 31, 2018 and moving to her “river view” cabin in Carbondale, Colorado. Please congratulate Audrey on this lifestyle change and thank her for agreeing to stay through the always hectic FY ‘18 year end and new FY ’19 fiscal year processes.

Thank you Audrey for your years of service to MIP and best of luck on your new adventure!

The cellular prion protein promotes olfactory sensory neuron survival and axon targeting during adult neurogenesis

Lindsay Parrie, Jenna Crowell, Glenn Telling and Richard Bessen

Developmental Biology   March 22, 2018      doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2018.03.012

An unmistakable conclusion can be reached from this month’s MIPublication of the Month®:  Take away prion protein and that odor in the air is a lot less noticeable.  Prion research has started to really smell. However before y’all grab your torches and pitchforks and march on the Prion Research Center in the name of clean air, please read on for a little clarification……

While there is a growing amount of data in the literature to indicate that normal prion protein (Prp) plays some role in neurogenic processes, its exact impact is not clear due to the complexity of cell types in brain tissue.  Lindsay and friends decided to wade into this debate upon recognizing that the olfactory sensory epithelium (aka nose neurons) would be a great system to examine the effect of prions.  This is because this olfactory tissue is relatively homogeneous as well as a rare site of continued neurogenesis throughout life.  Thus they acquired three types of mice: ones that express either normal levels of prion protein, no prion protein (Prp KOs), or overexpressed prion protein.  They then carefully looked at the state of neural development in these animals using immunohistochemical staining, PCR for neuron-related mRNAs, western blots for neuro-related protein expression, and axon targeting.  What they discovered was rather striking.  Dysregulation of prion expression (up or down-regulation) messed up aspects of olfactory neurogenesis. Basically dysregulation of Prp expression caused newly generated olfactory neurons to arrest as immature cells as well as significantly reduced axon targeting and overall olfactory neuron activity.

   
So why did we chose this nosy little study as our coveted MIPublication of the Month®?   First it represents a beautiful use of complementary over- and under-expression studies in an attractive experimental tissue to nail down a neuroprotective function of our old friend Prp.  It’s a great illustration of how strong study design leads to solid scientific conclusions.  Second, it demonstrates the effective use of our Experimental Pathology Core facility, illustrating the utility and need for continued support for cores here at CSU.  Finally, I don’t know about you, but the paper had me when I saw Richard’s name in the author line.  Although we’re coming up on the two year anniversary of his passing, the paper serves as clear evidence that his impact on MIP and the prion field is everlasting. 

MIP Publications April 2018

Zhou J, Lazar D, Li H, Xia X, Satheesan S, Charlins P, O'Mealy D, Akkina R, Saayman S, Weinberg MS, Rossi JJ, Morris KV.  Receptor-targeted aptamer-siRNA conjugate-directed transcriptional regulation of HIV-1.  Theranostics. 2018 Feb 7;8(6):1575-1590. doi: 10.7150/thno.23085.

McGrew AK, O'Hara TM, Stricker CA, Salman MD, Van Bonn W, Gulland FMD, Whiting A, Ballweber LR.  Ecotoxicoparasitology of the gastrointestinal tracts of pinnipeds: the effect of parasites on the potential bioavailability of total mercury (THg).  Sci Total Environ. 2018 Mar 7;631-632:233-238. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.173.

Cerda JR, Ballweber LR.  Confirmation of Echinococcus canadensis G8 and G10 in Idaho Gray Wolves ( Canis lupus) and Cervids.  J Wildl Dis. 2018 Apr;54(2):403-405.

Cerda JR, Buttke DE, Ballweber LR.  Echinococcus spp. Tapeworms in North America.  Emerg Infect Dis. 2018 Feb;24(2):230-235.

Keegan C, Krutzik S, Schenk M, Scumpia PO, Lu J, Pang YLJ, Russell BS, Lim KS, Shell S, Prestwich E, Su D, Elashoff D, Hershberg RM, Bloom BR, Belisle JT, Fortune S, Dedon PC, Pellegrini M, Modlin RL.  Mycobacterium tuberculosis Transfer RNA Induces IL-12p70 via Synergistic Activation of Pattern Recognition Receptors within a Cell Network.  J Immunol. 2018 Apr 2. pii: ji1701733. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1701733.

Choudhary A, Patel D, Honnen W, Lai Z, Prattipati RS, Zheng RB, Hsueh YC, Gennaro ML, Lardizabal A, Restrepo BI, Garcia-Viveros M, Joe M, Bai Y, Shen K, Sahloul K, Spencer JS, Chatterjee D, Broger T, Lowary TL, Pinter A.  Characterization of the Antigenic Heterogeneity of Lipoarabinomannan, the Major Surface Glycolipid of <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>, and Complexity of Antibody Specificities toward This Antigen.  J Immunol. 2018 Apr 2. pii: ji1701673. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1701673.

Magnuson AM, Fouts JK, Regan DP, Booth AD, Dow SW, Foster MT.  Adipose tissue extrinsic factor: Obesity-induced inflammation and the role of the visceral lymph node.  Physiol Behav. 2018 Mar 1. pii: S0031-9384(18)30105-7. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.02.044.

Aliota MT, Dudley DM, Newman CM, Weger-Lucarelli J, Stewart LM, Koenig MR, Breitbach ME, Weiler AM, Semler MR, Barry GL, Zarbock KR, Haj AK, Moriarty RV, Mohns MS, Mohr EL, Venturi V, Schultz-Darken N, Peterson E, Newton W, Schotzko ML, Simmons HA, Mejia A, Hayes JM, Capuano S 3rd, Davenport MP, Friedrich TC, Ebel GD, O'Connor SL, O'Connor DH.  Molecularly barcoded Zika virus libraries to probe in vivo evolutionary dynamics.  PLoS Pathog. 2018 Mar 28;14(3):e1006964. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006964.

Fauver JR, Weger-Lucarelli J, Fakoli LS 3rd, Bolay K, Bolay FK, Diclaro JW 2nd, Brackney DE, Foy BD, Stenglein MD, Ebel GD.  Xenosurveillance reflects traditional sampling techniques for the identification of human pathogens: A comparative study in West Africa.  PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2018 Mar 21;12(3):e0006348. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006348.

Griffin LR, Thamm DH, Selmic LE, Ehrhart EJ, Randall E.  Pilot study utilizing Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography for glycolytic phenotyping of canine mast cell tumors.  Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 2018 Mar 23. doi: 10.1111/vru.12612.

Picard-Jean F, Brand C, Tremblay-Létourneau M, Allaire A, Beaudoin MC, Boudreault S, Duval C, Rainville-Sirois J, Robert F, Pelletier J, Geiss BJ, Bisaillon M.  2'-O-methylation of the mRNA cap protects RNAs from decapping and degradation by DXO.  PLoS One. 2018 Mar 30;13(3):e0193804. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193804.

Orme IM, Henao-Tamayo MI.  Trying to See the Forest through the Trees: Deciphering the Nature of Memory Immunity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.  Front Immunol. 2018 Mar 8;9:461. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00461.

Shanley CA, Henao-Tamayo MI, Bipin C, Mugasimangalam R, Verma D, Ordway DJ, Streicher EM, Orme IM.  Biology of clinical strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with varying levels of transmission.  Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2018 Mar;109:123-133. doi: 10.1016/j.tube.2018.02.003.

Davenport KA, Christiansen JR, Bian J, Young M, Gallegos J, Kim S, Balachandran A, Mathiason CK, Hoover EA, Telling GC.  Comparative analysis of prions in nervous and lymphoid tissues of chronic wasting disease-infected cervids.  J Gen Virol. 2018 Mar 26. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.001053.

Romo H, Papa A, Kading R, Clark R, Delorey M, Brault AC.  Comparative Vector Competence of North American Culex pipiens and Culex quinquefasciatus for African and European Lineage 2 West Nile Viruses.  Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2018 Apr 9. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.17-0935.

Kading RC, Kityo RM, Mossel EC, Borland EM, Nakayiki T, Nalikka B, Nyakarahuka L, Ledermann JP, Panella NA, Gilbert AT, Crabtree MB, Peterhans JK, Towner JS, Amman BR, Sealy TK, Nichol ST, Powers AM, Lutwama JJ, Miller BR.  Neutralizing antibodies against flaviviruses, Babanki virus, and Rift Valley fever virus in Ugandan bats.  Infect Ecol Epidemiol. 2018 Feb 21;8(1):1439215. doi: 10.1080/20008686.2018.1439215.

Barbieri M, Duncan C, Harting AL, Pabilonia KL, Johanos TC, Goldstein T, Robinson SJ, Littnan CL.  Survey for Placental Disease and Reproductive Pathogens in the Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal ( Neomonachus schauinslandi).  J Wildl Dis. 2018 Mar 21. doi: 10.7589/2017-07-164.

Stabell AC, Meyerson NR, Gullberg RC, Gilchrist AR, Webb KJ, Old WM, Perera R, Sawyer SL.  Dengue viruses cleave STING in humans but not in nonhuman primates, their presumed natural reservoir.  Elife. 2018 Mar 20;7. pii: e31919. doi: 10.7554/eLife.31919.

McIlwraith CW, Kawcak CE, Frisbie DD, Little CB, Clegg PD, Peffers MJ, Karsdal MA, Ekman S, Laverty S, Slayden RA, Sandell LJ, Lohmander LS, Kraus VB.  Biomarkers for equine joint injury and osteoarthritis.  J Orthop Res. 2018 Mar;36(3):823-831. doi: 10.1002/jor.23738.

Wostenberg DJ, Walker N, Fox KA, Spraker TR, Piaggio AJ, Gilbert A.  Evidence of Two Cocirculating Canine Distemper Virus Strains in Mesocarnivores from Northern Colorado.  J Wildl Dis. 2018 Mar 2. doi: 10.7589/2017-09-238.

Amarasinghe GK, …….T, Calisher CH, Stenglein MD, …….Kuhn JH.  Taxonomy of the order Mononegavirales: update 2018.  Arch Virol. 2018 Apr 11. doi: 10.1007/s00705-018-3814-x

Parrie LE, Crowell JAE, Telling GC, Bessen RA.  The cellular prion protein promotes olfactory sensory neuron survival and axon targeting during adult neurogenesis.  Dev Biol. 2018 Mar 22. pii: S0012-1606(18)30016-2. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2018.03.012.

Fraser D, Mouton A, Serieys LEK, Cole S, Carver S, Vandewoude S, Lappin M, Riley SPD, Wayne R.  Genome-wide expression reveals multiple systemic effects associated with detection of anticoagulant poisons in bobcats (Lynx rufus).  Mol Ecol. 2018 Mar;27(5):1170-1187. doi: 10.1111/mec.14531.

Flobinus A, Chevigny N, Charley PA, Seissler T, Klein E, Bleykasten-Grosshans C, Ratti C, Bouzoubaa S, Wilusz J, Gilmer D.  Beet Necrotic Yellow Vein Virus Noncoding RNA Production Depends on a 5'→3' Xrn Exoribonuclease Activity.  Viruses. 2018 Mar 19;10(3). pii: E137. doi: 10.3390/v10030137.

Friday, May 11th, 2018

DVM Program: 8:00 a.m.- Moby Arena

The Graduate School: 3:00 p.m.- Moby Arena

Saturday, May 12th, 2018

CVMBS- 9:00 a.m. - Lory Student Center, Grand Ballroom

MIP Brings Gene Editing to Liberty Common High School

Carol Wilusz, Mike Mangalea & Mason Hagaman (Biomedical Sciences) recently visited Liberty Common High School in Fort Collins to teach AP Bio students how to use CRISPR-Cas9 to edit the genome of E.coli.  IDT Corporation kindly provided the students with reagents, t-shirts and notebooks. 

80 Is the New 30

Pat Brennan celebrated his 80th birthday in style on March 16th with family, friends, beer and a brand new left hip.

Sharin O'Green St. Patrick's Day 5K "MIPatty Power" team

Dan Regan, Mary Jackson, Gregory Robertson, Barb Andre, Jim Frantz, Bryan Salimbeni. (not pictured) family and friends participated in the 2018 Sharin O’Green 5K race to benefit Partners Mentoring Youth. 

MIP Grad Students Coach Local High School Science Olympiad Team to Gold

Four MIP graduate students helped 4 teams from Fossil Ridge High School to outstanding performances in the Colorado State Science Olympiad Competition.  Reyes Murrieta and Megan Miller coached the ‘Microbe Mission’ section while Bridget Eklund and Shaun Cross coached ‘Disease Detectives’. This is their second year coaching these events and they have been working hard with the participants since mid-October.

The Fossil Ridge team was named State Champs for the 3rd consecutive year!  The other FRHS teams came in 3rd, 6th and 15th out of 30 competitors.  Even the 15th place finish is quite impressive when you consider that the team is mostly Freshmen!!!!!

MSA Brew Time

Microbiology Student Association members went on a brewery tour of the Gilded Goat with MIP alum and head brewer, Charlie Hoxmeier.  The burning question remains, however, when Charlie is going to make a brew called ‘Twobeerculosis’………

Planning a new AIDL Building

Let the games begin!  A few photos of the architectural charrette which kicked off the planning of the new AIDL building.  The team was all in agreement that shower stalls should not double as desk space in the new facililty……

Todos Santos Bioinformatics Workshop

Mark Stenglein participated in this year’s Todos Santos Bioinformatics workshop-a five day hands on workshop on Next-Gen sequencing and genomics data analysis.

MIP Advocates on Capitol Hill

Sue VandeWoude and Kristy Pabilonia met with Senator Cory Gardner to advocate for the NAHLN (National Animal Health Laboratory Network - the VDL is a Tier 1 lab) as well as other issues of concern to the veterinary profession while attending the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.

A Breath of Night Air

This breathtaking photo of Antelope Canyon was taken by Ralph Smith late at night using a low-intensity LED light to paint the sandstone rocks and a long exposure to capture the stars.

MIP 700 Topics

Fall 2018:
Immunology and the Microbiome: instructors Gregg Dean and Zaid Abdo
This course will explore the reciprocal interactions of the host microbiome and mucosal immune system using current literature and a highly interactive approach.

Spring 2019:
TBD – will be announced as soon as available.

Infectious Disease PRSE Scientific Symposium Coming in June

The Infectious Disease PRSE and Colorado State University is hosting a scientific symposium entitled “Metabolism of Infectious Diseases” on June 12th - 15th, 2018. The symposium will bring together scientists representing a breadth of infectious diseases and immunology research, with a collective interest in studying the metabolism of pathogens and their hosts.  We invite you to participate in this symposium and interact with scientists that share an interest in this area of research. 

See more on the symposium here.

"Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's Party!"

-Robin Williams

Choose your Caption

Researchers discover an original Michelangelo ‘The Creation of Joel’ in the ceiling of the Pathology Building

Pick a caption:

1.Dean recreates the discovery of the utility of the wire brush to clean glassware.

2.My vote for Dean’s 2018 Halloween Costume: -Mr. Clean

3. Dean rockin' the cell phone belt clip

4.Submit your own.

Pick a caption:

1. Ace Foy, Mosquito Detective

2. A dude with that old MIP-attitude

3. Even cold-blooded insects find him cool

4.Submit your own.

Note the stadium shown in the picture of this ‘Ultimate Guide to Coors Field’ published by the Denver Post on April 6th.

Let’s Go Phillies!!!!!!!!

NIH Budget Boost and Paylines

As you’ve probably heard, NIH received an 8.8% increase in its overall budget – which translates into a 6.7 increase in the NIAID budget that funds many MIP awards.  R01 paylines have been set at 13th percentile (non-new PIs) and 17th percentile for new PIs.  R03 and R21 grants will be funded at a 32 overall impact score.  NIAID has also set aside $18 million for its R56 bridge awards.  Woo Hoo!

Antibiotic resistant bacteria FOAs

NIAID has issued FOAs for R01 and R21 awards to advance research related to the National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB).  Focus areas include the impact of the overall microbiome on generation and control of drug resistant bacteria, as well as combination therapies to improve therapy.  Check it out at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-18-725.html    and  https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-18-724.html

Guidance for comply with the NIH policy of reproducibility

Check out https://www.niaid.nih.gov/grants-contracts/be-rigorous-about-rigor-and-transparency for a clear description on what NIH expects in the four focus areas (premise, rigor, biologic variables and authentication) of this year-plus old initiative that is still perplexing some grant seekers.

New Grant Awards

John Belisle: "BMAC CSU Core Facility Mass Spectrometry Services", HHS-CDC-Centers for Disease Control.

Delphi Chatterjee: "Role of Gamma/Delta T Cells in Vaccine Induced Immunity", Saint Louis University.

Dean Crick: "Novel TB Drug Candidates via the Inhibition of Lipid I Biosynthesis", University of Sydney.

Greg Ebel: "Analysis of Zika virus emergence and functional evolution in the Americas", The Scripps Research Institute.

Nicole Kruh-Garcia: "High-purity extracellular vesicle isolation from blood and sorting by MS-defined surface epitopes", Ajinomoto Amino Acid Research Program.

Ken Olson: "Next-Generation, Semi-Orthogonal eTIPs for Active Suppression of Alpha Virus Replications", University of Washington.

Diane Ordway: "Novel inhalable medications for the treatment of NTM in lung infections", QrumPharma, Inc..

Daniel Regan, Daniel Gustafson, Steven Dow: "Elucidating the Role and Regulation of Periostin in Therapy Induced Chemoresistance in Metastatic Breast Cancer", HHS-NIH-NCI-National Cancer Institute.

Tony Schountz: "Biology and infection of bats with novel bat influenza viruses", Kansas State University.

Sue VandeWoude, Kevin Crooks, William Funk: "Impacts of Landscape Structure, Host Demography, and Management Interventions on Disease Dynamics", NSF-National Science Foundation.

Mark Zabel: "Examination of Chronic Wasting Disease Prion Strains from Free-Ranging Cervids", Boone and Crockett Club.

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