Virtual Dartmouth Cystic Fibrosis Retreat
Sponsored by the Geisel School of Medicine, CF Foundation, and NIH
Welcome to the 2021 DartCF Virtual Cystic Fibrosis Retreat! Although we can’t gather in person, we are delighted to be able to share eight exciting research presentations with you. As listed in more detail below, Dr. Nadia Ameen (Yale), Dr. Maria Hadjifrangiskou (Vanderbilt), Dr. Luke Hoffman (U. Washington), and Dr. Paul Turner (Yale) all graciously agreed to record lectures with our CF research group in March and April of this year. In addition, four Dartmouth graduate students have prepared short talks on their current research. We hope these seminars will provide new insights and updates on important progress in the field. Please feel free to reach out to the participants directly via email if you have any follow-up questions. If you have concerns with the website or suggestions for the Virtual DartCF Seminar, please email Cindy Stewart.
Best wishes,
Bruce and Dean
Quick Links:
Nadia Ameen, MBBS (Yale): Stress and CFTR in the Gut: Implications for Diarrhea and CF
Paul Turner, PhD (Yale): Phage-therapy Treatment of MDR Pulmonary Infections in CF Patients
NIH Training Grant Students: 15-Minute Talks
Keynote Speakers
“Stress and CFTR in the Gut: Implications for Diarrhea and CF”
Nadia Ameen, MBBS
Professor of Pediatrics
Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Yale School of Medicine
Email: nadia.ameen@yale.edu
As a physician-scientist, Dr. Ameen’s research focuses on mechanisms responsible for diarrheal diseases. Her lab primarily investigates mechanisms regulating the CFTR chloride channel in the intestine and how they are linked to genetic, and non-genetic diarrheal diseases and Cystic Fibrosis (CF). Dr. Ameen’s clinical practice is focused on food and gut health in children to treat and prevent obesity, and chronic lifestyle diseases.
“A New Role for an E. coli Quinol Oxidase in Biofilm Antibiotic Tolerance”
Maria Hadjifrangiskou, PhD
Associate Director, Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation
Associate Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology
Associate Professor in Urology
Vanderbilt University
Email: maria.hadjifrangiskou@vanderbilt.edu
Dr. Hadjifrangiskou’s lab looks at how bacteria make sense of their surroundings, specifically focusing on how bacteria use small sensory devices, called two-component systems, to “think.” Dr. Hadjifrangiskou is interested in understanding how two-component systems work because 1) they allow pathogens to effectively avoid threats while trying to colonize the human host and 2) they are absent in humans and present in bacteria that cause disease and therefore make great targets for drug discovery. Dr. Hadjifrangiskou’s lab focuses on bacteria that cause urinary tract infections and specifically on uropathogenic E. coli, which accounts for the majority of community- and hospital-acquired UTIs worldwide.
“From Stem to Stern: How a Pediatric Pulmonologist Came to Admire the Infant CF Fecal Microbiome”
Luke Hoffman, MD, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics and Adjunct Professor of Microbiology
University of Washington, Seattle
Email: lhoffm@uw.edu
Dr. Hoffman is a clinician-scientist. In his clinical role he is a pediatric pulmonologist, focused on the health and disease of children’s lungs. His research focuses on chronic lung infections, particularly in patients with CF, working to understand why chronic lung infections are so difficult to treat and how to improve current treatments. Dr. Hoffman is also interested in how the GI microbiota impact early growth and nutrition.
“Phage-therapy Treatment of MDR Pulmonary Infections in CF Patients”
Paul E. Turner, PhD
Rachel Carson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University;
Microbiology Faculty, Yale School of Medicine
Email: paul.turner@yale.edu
The focus of Dr. Turner’s interdisciplinary research examines how viruses evolutionarily adapt to overcome new challenges, such as emergence on novel host species, transmission via new arthropod vectors, survival at elevated temperatures, or changes in host immunity. His lab’s research also studies how viruses can be used in phage therapy as an alternative to traditional antibiotics, and in oncolytic therapy against cancers. Of special note, Dr. Turner was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2019.
NIH Training Grants
15-Minute Student Talks
Dartmouth Cystic Fibrosis Training Program (NIH/NHLBI)
“A Mouse Model of Cepacia Syndrome to Study Burkholderia cenocepacia Pathogenesis”
Nicole Loeven
PhD Student, Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program
Bliska Laboratory
Email: Nicole.A.Loeven.GR@dartmouth.edu
“Aspergillus fumigatus In-Host HOG Pathway Mutation: Implications for CF Lung Persistence and Hypoxia”
Brandon Ross
PhD Student, Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program
Cramer Lab
Email: Brandon.S.Ross.GR@dartmouth.edu
Host-Microbe Interactions Training Grant (NIH/NIAID)
“Surface Sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Activation of cAMP Production Through Type IV Pili Activity”
Chris Geiger
PhD Student, Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program
O’Toole Lab
Email: Christopher.J.Geiger.GR@dartmouth.edu
“The Impacts of Antibiotics on the Infant Gut Microbiome and Resistome”
Becky Lebeaux
PhD Student, Quantitative Biomedical Sciences
Hoen Lab
Email: Rebecca.M.Lebeaux.GR@dartmouth.edu