I am interested in the genetic basis of human susceptibility to infection and autoimmunity. In work with Dr. Samuel Miller at UW, we used genotyped cell lines from 500 individuals to measure inter-individual variation in host-pathogen traits (autophagy, cell death) and identify associated genetic differences with a cellular genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach. The single nucleotide polymorphisms that influence these pathways are important in autoimmunity.
I am also interested in technologies that allow us to probe specific interactions in host cells. These include understanding the sequences of signaling events in the host; and host interactions with specific pathogen proteins that can alter host cell signaling. In earlier work with Drs. Joan Brugge and Jonathan Cooper, we explored approaches to identify direct cellular substrates of protein kinases Akt and Src. In more recent work with Dr. Geoffrey Waldo at LANL, we used split-GFP tools to elucidate direct protein interaction partners in host cells.
My current interests lie in the development and improvement of clinical assays that provide useful information in autoimmunity and in infectious diseases. My goals are to understand limitations and improve testing of various markers for disease. Most recently, I have been involved in collaborative studies comparing various SARS-CoV2 antibody detection platforms and correlating ELISA results with neutralizing antibodies; examining approaches to standardize ELISA results; and studies examining correlates between acute SARS-CoV2 infection and autoantibodies.
A complete list of my publications is available at ;
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9124KXUAAAAJ&hl=th
I received my Ph.D. in Bio-organic Chemistry from SUNY-Stony Brook in 1997 under the guidance of Dr. Glenn D. Prestwich in synthesis and biochemical characterization of photoactivatable analogs of phosphatidylinositol polyphosphates. From 1997-1999, I was a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Joan S. Brugge at Harvard Medical School. I synthesized modified nucleotide analogs and engineered protein kinase Akt to identify its direct substrates. I also studied integrin-mediated cell signaling and identified a role for protein kinase Pak in phosphatidylinositol 3’- kinase mediated Raf signaling. In 1999, I continued to employ chemical methods to probe direct substrates of tyrosine kinase c-Src at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center as a postdoctoral associate in Dr. Jonathan A. Cooper’s laboratory.
I worked as a Staff Scientist at the Metabolic and Respiratory Diseases Group in Wyeth Research, Cambridge (2001-2002). I worked on developing assays for high throughput screening of protein kinase C isoforms. From 2002-2011, I was employed as a Staff Scientist in the Biosecurity and Public Health Group in the Biosciences Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. My predominant interests were in Toll like receptor signaling and the development of assays for probing direct protein protein interactions in host cells. From 2011-2017, I worked as a Research Assistant Professor in Microbiology at the University of Washington, exploring topics relating to bacterial pathogenesis and innate immunity.