Seminar Date Seminar Details
February 2, 2024 Watch Your Diet: Vitamin B12 Deficiency Impairs Gut Microbiota Function and Disrupts Mucosal Homeostasis
Yong Ge, PhD, UT Health San Antonio
February 9, 2024 Lessons from a Decade of Plastisphere Research
Jeffrey Turner, PhD, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
February 16, 2024 Understanding How Host-Microbe Interactions Drive Infections by Cryptococcus and Candida
Felipe Santiago-Tirado, PhD, University of Notre Dame
February 23, 2024 Tough and Sticky: Evolution of Stress Response and Adhesin Gene Family in Pathogenic Yeasts
Bin He, PhD, University of Iowa
March 1, 2024 UM Center for Translational Medicine: Bridging the Gap Between Innate and Adaptive Immunity
Jay Evans, PhD, University of Montana
March 8, 2024 Tick-Borne Rickettsial Diseases Impacting Animal and Human Health: Building Bridges from Basic Research to Vaccine Development
Roman Ganta, PhD, University of Missouri
March 15, 2024 Spring Break
March 22, 2024 Contributions of Astrocytes in the Inflammatory Response during Hypoxic Retinopathy
Colin Rorex, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
March 29, 2024 Decipher Source of Viral Rebound and Strategies for a Prolonged HIV Remission
Binhua "Julie" Ling, PhD, Southwest National Primate Research Center
April 5, 2024 Tick Immunity vs. Pathogen Persistence: The Molecular Tug of War That Shapes Vector Competence
Dana K. Shaw, PhD, Washington State University
April 12, 2024 Role of Borrelia Unfed Tick Induced Protein (BtiP) in the Colonization of the Lyme Disease Agent Within Tick and Mammalian Hosts
Jessica O'Berry, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
April 19, 2024 Spring Symposium
April 26, 2024 Quantifying Cell Biology Through High-Speed Single Cell Imaging and Analysis
Richard DeMarco, Cytek Biosciences

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 25, 2023 Fighting Fungal Infections: Battle against Coccidioides
Chiung-Yu Hung, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 1, 2023 Metabolic and Microbial Regulation of Lupus Pathogenesis
Laurence Morel, PhD, UT Health San Antonio
September 8, 2023 Pathomimetic Human Gastrointestinal Disease-on-a-Chip: From Organomimicry to Translational Medicine
Hyun Jung Kim, PhD, Lerner Research Institute
September 15, 2023 Why Do We Still Fear Plague?
Deborah Anderson, PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia
September 22, 2023 Host Pathogen Interaction between Human Neutrophil and Coxiella burnetii
Kannan Thangamani, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 29, 2023 High-Throughput Genetics, Essential Gene Discovery, and Antifungal Resistance in Cryptococcus neoformans
Blake Billmyre, PhD, University of Georgia
October 6, 2023 Mammalian Host Colonization by the Fungus Candida albicans
Christian Perez, PhD, University of Texas McGovern Medical School
October 13, 2023 Precision Long-Read Metagenomics Sequencing for Food Safety and Development of a Cloud Based Analysis Tool
Narjol Gonzalez-Escalona, PhD, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
October 20, 2023 Elucidating The Mechanisms of Protective Immune Responses Against Coxiella burnetii Infection
Shawkat Alam, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 27, 2023 A Multifunctional Toxin in Mycoplasma pneumoniae Pathogenesis
Thirumalai R. Kannan, PhD, UT Health San Antonio
November 3, 2023 A Multiscale Look at the Contributions of Bacterial Biopolymers to Means through which Multi-Drug Resistant E. coli Fights Ampicillin
Geof Hannigan, PhD, Merck
November 9, 2023 Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio Conference
November 17, 2023 Combating Multidrug-Resistant Superbugs by Targeting
Victor Nizet, MD, University of California-San Diego

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 20, 2023 The Distribution of Duplicated Antibiotic Resistance Genes Across Complete Microbial Genomes Reflects Ecologically Relevant Selection and Horizontal Gene Transfer
Rohan Maddamsetti, PhD, Duke University
January 27, 2023 Development of Engineering Probiotics to Deliver Narrow-Spectrum Siderophore Antimicrobial Peptides against Drug-Resistant Enteric Bacteria
Benedikt Mortzfeld, PhD, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
February 3, 2023 Molecular Mechanisms of Bacterial Adhesion
Shuaiqi Guo, PhD, Yale University
February 10, 2023 Quantifying Interactions of the Intestinal Microbiota in Space and Time
Octavio Mondragon Palomino, PhD, National Institutes of Health
February 17, 2023 Discovery and Function of BDL, a Novel B Cell Subset that Dampens CNS Autoimmunity through Regulatory T Cells
Bonnie Dittel, PhD, Versiti Blood Research Institute
February 24, 2023 Fungal Kinase-Mediated Fitness in the Host Lung Niche
Jarrod R Fortwendel, PhD, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
March 3, 2023 Assessing the Role of FrhA and the Peptide Binding Domain in Vibrio cholerae
Cameron Lloyd, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
March 10, 2023 How Whole Genome Sequencing Supports Public Health
Maria Hoffmann, PhD, FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
March 17, 2023 Spring Break
March 24, 2023 The Tick Microbiome and One-Health
Kelly Brayton, PhD, Washington State University
March 31, 2023 Of Spores and Cells – Adventures in Clostridioides difficile Physiology
Aimee Shen, PhD, Tufts University
April 7, 2023 TBD
Lucasz Kozubowski, PhD, Clemson University
April 14, 2023 TBD
Mariana Xavier Byndloss, DVM, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
April 21, 2023 seminar cancelled
April 28, 2023 Role of Plasmid Encoded Genes in the Pathophysiology of Lyme Disease
Taylor MacMackin, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 26, 2022 How Tracking Contamination in Ground Beef Lead to Investigating E. coli as a Cause of Colorectal Cancer
Mick Bosilevac, PhD, USDA Agricultural Research Service
September 2, 2022 Mucor, Drug Resistance, and Mycobiome
Soo Chan Lee, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 9, 2022 Combating the Unseen Enemy: Developing Treatments for Wound Infections in the Warfighter
Sabrina Snyder, PhD, Naval Medical Research Unit - San Antonio
September 16, 2022 Integrated Approaches for Microalgal Biotechnology
Yoon-E Choi, Korea University
September 23, 2022 Starch or No Starch? Ironing Out the Impact of Glycogen Metabolism in the Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans on Fitness and Host Response
Brian Peters, PhD, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
September 30, 2022 Genetic Control of Diverse Morphological Developments in Human Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus
Sheng Sun, PhD, Duke University Medical Center
October 7, 2022 Fine-Tuning Cholesterol in the Intracellular Niche
Stacey Gilk, PhD, University of Nebraska Medical Center
October 14, 2022 Targeting Plasmodium Protein Synthesis – The Relationship between Translation Inhibitor Efficacy and Reversibility during P. berghei Liver Stage Schizogony
James McLellan, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 21, 2022 Thiomargarita magnifica, the Largest Bacterium Ever Observed, Challenges Traditional Concepts of Bacterial Cells
Jean-Marie Volland, PhD, Laboratory for Research in Complex Systems
October 28, 2022 Bacterial Amyloid Curli: Expression, Regulation and Pathogenicity
Cagla Tukel, PhD, Lewis Katz School of Medicine Temple University
November 4, 2022 Elucidating the Intrinsic Echinocandin Resistance Mechanisms in Mucor circinelloides
Alex Garcia, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
November 10, 2022 Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio Conference
November 11, 2022 Of Frogs and Fungi: Evaluating the Drivers of Variation in Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Infection Susceptibility in Wild Amphibians
Anat Belasen, PhD, University of Texas at Austin
November 18, 2022 Genomic Variation of Shiga Toxin-Containing Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Cattle over Time
Jim Bono, PhD, USDA Agricultural Research Service
November 25, 2022 Thanksgiving Break
December 2, 2022 Drug Repurposing and De Novo Screenings To Identify Compounds With Anti-Candida Biofilm Activities
Olabayo Ajetunmobi, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 21, 2022 Role of Fractalkine and CX3CR1 Polymorphic Variants in Microglia Function in Diabetic Retinopathy
Kaira Church, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
January 28, 2022 T Cells Find a Niche during an Immune Response
Charlotte Vines, PhD, University of Texas at El Paso
February 4, 2022 Effects of Candida Species Gastrointestinal Colonization on Clostridioides difficile Infection
Jesús Romo, PhD, Tufts University
February 11, 2022 Toxoplasma gondii - A Master Manipulator: From Effector Discovery to Novel Concepts in Cell Death
Alex Rosenberg, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine
February 18, 2022 Chemical Cartography of Neglected Tropical Diseases: Insights into Pathogenesis and Drug Development
Laura-Isobel McCall, PhD, University of Oklahoma
February 25, 2022 TBD
Shahid Karim, PhD, University of Southern Mississippi
March 4, 2022 The Systems Biology of Clostridioides difficile Infection
Vincent Young, MD, PhD, University of Michigan Medical School
March 11, 2022 Vibrio cholerae Interaction with the Commensal Fungus Candida albicans
Mylea Echazarreta, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
March 18, 2022 Spring Break
March 25, 2022 Innate Immunity and Regulated Cell Death in Fungi
Teresa Pawlowska, PhD, Cornell University
April 1, 2022 Cocci and COVID: Tales of Two Tests
Douglas Lake, PhD, Arizona State University
April 8, 2022 Genetic Approaches for Understanding Fungal Pathogenesis
Teresa O'Meara, PhD, University of Michigan
April 15, 2022 TBD
Mick Bosilevac, PhD, USDA Agricultural Research Service
April 22, 2022 TBD
Shumin Tan, PhD, Tufts University School of Medicine
April 29, 2022 Modeling the Neurological Effects of Prenatal COVID-19 Exposure Using Human Cortical Organoids
Courtney McMahon, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 27, 2021 Clinical Testing of Common and Uncommon Infectious Disease: Small and High Volume Processes
Sean Villasan, Livingstone Med Lab
September 3, 2021 Machine Biology for Infectious Disease
Cesar de la Fuente, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
September 10, 2021 What Microbes Can Tell Us about the Built Environment
Davida Smyth, PhD, Texas A&M San Antonio
September 17, 2021 Imaging SARS-CoV-2 Infection Dynamics in vitro and in vivo
Luis Martinez-Sobrido, PhD, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
September 24, 2021 Multi-Scale Quantitative Analysis of Host Resilience: What Malaria Can Teach Us About Infectious Disease in General
Juan Gutierrez, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 1, 2021 Host Innate Immune Responses in a Murine Model of Anaplasma phagocytophilum Infection
Diana Scorpio, PhD, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
October 8, 2021 Development of COVID 19 Vaccines and Therapies in Nonhuman Primates
Ricardo Carrion, Jr., PhD, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
October 15, 2021 Career Path in Clinical Molecular Diagnostics
Pramod Mishra, PhD, iGenomeDx Inc.
October 22, 2021 More Than Just Cleaning, Ubiquitin Mediated Proteolysis in Fungal Pathogenesis
Chaoyang Xue, PhD, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
October 29, 2021 Activation of ER Stress Impacts the Immune Responses to Enteric Pathogens
Marijke Keestra-Gounder, PhD, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine
November 5, 2021 Applications of Machine Learning in Single-Cell Sequencing Data Analyses
Dong Xu, PhD, University of Missouri-Columbia
November 12, 2021 Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio Conference
November 19, 2021 TBD
Bruce Klein, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
November 26, 2021 Thanksgiving Break

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 22, 2021 Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria and Microbiota Identified among Flies and their Sympatric Animals
Anwar Abdulaziz Kalalah, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
January 29, 2021 Job of the Mushroom Breeder
Andrii Gryganskyi, PhD, L.F. Lambert Spawn Co.
February 5, 2021 Two Vignettes: Opine Metallophore and Riboflavin Biosynthesis by Human Pathogens
Audrey Lamb, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
February 12, 2021 Investigating Fungal-Bacterial Interactions Underpinning Human Pathogenesis
Elizabeth Ballou, PhD, University of Birmingham, UK
February 19, 2021 Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Deborah Springer, PhD, Novozymes
February 26, 2021 Microbial Processes in Low Temperature Natural and Engineered Geochemical Systems
Saugata Datta, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
March 5, 2021 How Dietary Tryptophan and Environmental Chemical Compounds Control T Cell Responses in the Intestine
Sangwon Kim, PhD, Philadelphia University/Thomas Jefferson University
March 12, 2021 Spring Break
March 19, 2021 T Cell-Mediated Neurodegeneration in the Brain is Critical for Cryptococcus-Associated IRIS
Makoto Inoue, PhD, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
March 26, 2021 Functional Genomics and Evolution of Symbioses between Mucoromycota Fungi and their Betaproteobacterial
Jessie Uehling, PhD, Oregon State University
April 2, 2021 Exploring the Structure and Function of Microbial Motility: Chemotaxis and Intermicrobial Transport
Ariane Briegel, PhD, Leiden University, Netherlands
April 9, 2021 Vibrio cholerae Pathogenesis: A Tale of Two Regulons
Shelle Payne, PhD, University of Texas at Austin
April 16, 2021 TBD
Jonathan S. Finkel, PhD, University of Detroit Mercy
April 23, 2021 TBD
Rahul Raghaven, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
April 30, 2021 TBD
Salvador Almagro-Moreno, PhD, University of Central Florida

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 28, 2020 Nanoantibiotics and Infectious Diseases: Into the Astounding Journey to the Microcosmos
Roberto Vazquez-Munoz, PhD, MSc, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 4, 2020 Drugs and Vaccines against Fungi
Chiung Yu Hung, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 11, 2020 Developing a Novel Vaccine against Francisella tularensis
Jonathon Keck, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 18, 2020 Sources of Tissue Injury and Mechanisms of Repair during Autoimmunity: Modulation of Innate
Astrid Cardona, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 25, 2020 Developing Treatments to Prevent and Reverse Inflammation-Mediated Heart Failure
Thomas Forsthuber, MD, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 2, 2020 Searching for Novel and Desirable Antimalarials
Kirsten Hanson, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 9, 2020 Pathogenomes and Virulence traits of Shiga Toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC)
Mark Eppinger, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 16, 2020 Prevention, Treatment and Clinical Trials for COVID-19
Thomas F. Patterson, MD, FACP, FIDSA, UT Health San Antonio
October 23, 2020 TBD
Brian Moy, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 30, 2020 Fungal Morphology in Resistance to Calcineurin Inhibitors and Host-Pathogen Interactions
Sandeep Vellanki, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
November 6, 2020 Effect of LPS Phase Variation in the Pathogenicity of Coxiella burnetii
Venkatesh Kumaresan, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
November 13, 2020 TBD
Sunter Lab
November 20, 2020 TBD
Borna Sarker, University of Texas at San Antonio
November 27, 2020 Thanksgiving Break

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 24, 2020 Nanoscale Investigations of Bacterial Interactions and Properties
Nehal Abu-Lail, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
January 31, 2020 Screening Repurposing Libraries to Identify Drugs with Novel Antifungal Activity against Candida auris
Gina Wall, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
February 7, 2020 A Study of Resilience Across Scales: The Case of Malaria
Juan Gutierrez, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
February 14, 2020 Using Fungal Epidemiology and Pathogen Biology to Solve Challenges in Plant Pathology
Robin A. Choudhury, PhD, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
February 21, 2020 Drug Resistance and Interactions with Host in Pathogenic Fungi
Sandeep Vellanki, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
February 28, 2020 How does CX3CR1 Regulate Microglial Function: Learnings from Gene Expression Studies
Stefka Gyoneva, PhD, Biogen
March 6, 2020 The Haloarchaea of Great Salt Lake: Implications for Astrobiology
Bonnie Baster, PhD, Westminster College
March 13, 2020 Spring Break
March 20, 2020 TBD
Sangwon V. Kim, PhD, Thomas Jefferson University/Philadelphia University
March 27, 2020 TBD
Roman Reddy, PhD, Kansas State University Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases
April 3, 2020 TBD
Kendra Rumbaugh, PhD, Texas Tech University Health Science Center
April 10, 2020 TBD
Teresa O'Meara, PhD, University of Michigan Medical School
April 17, 2020 TBD
Lynn Soong, MD, PhD, University of Texas Medical Branch
April 24, 2020 TBD
Magdia De Jesus, PhD, University at Albany School of Public Health
May 1, 2020 TBD
Jeffrey K. Actor, PhD, UT Health Science Center at Houston

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 30, 2019 Innate Immunity in Blinding Bacterial and Fungal Corneal Infections
Eric Pearlman, PhD, University of California-Irvine
September 6, 2019 A Midas Touch: Gold Nanoparticles as Effective Protective Vaccines against Bacterial Pathogens
Alfredo G. Torres, PhD, University of Texas Medical Branch
September 13, 2019 Creating and Empowering Functional Bacterial Flagellar Motors
David Hendrixson, PhD, UT Southwestern Medical Center
September 20, 2019 Discovering Viral and Cancer Immunity Mechanisms Using Quantitative Biology
Diako Ebrahimi, PhD, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
September 27, 2019 In Search of Next-Generation Antimalarials
Debopam Chakrabarti, PhD, University of Central Florida
October 4, 2019 B Cell Immunity against Malaria
Evelien Bunnik, PhD, UT Health San Antonio
October 11, 2019 The Paul Reveres of the Cell: Exosomes as Messengers of Innate Immunity
Ramin M. Hakami, PhD, George Mason University
October 18, 2019 Role of Borrelia Cell Envelope in the Pathogenesis of Lyme Disease
Yue (Rachel) Chen, PhD Candidate, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 25, 2019 Molecular Dissection of Natural Transformation and Exploiting it as a Genetic Tool to Study Vibrio Species
Ankur Dalia, PhD, Indiana University
November 1, 2019 Dimorphism and Drug Resistance Studies in Candida albicans
Haoping Liu, PhD, University of California-Irvine
November 8, 2019 ASM Branch Meeting at UTSA
November 15, 2019 Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio Conference
November 22, 2019 The Biology the Apicomplexan Parasite Cryptosporidium
Boris Striepen, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
November 29, 2019 Thanksgiving Break

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 18, 2019 Variation in the Untranslated Genome and Susceptibility to Infections
Smita Kulkarni, PhD, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
January 25, 2019 Microbes under the Changing Climate
Sanghoon Kang, PhD, Baylor University
February 1, 2019 The Many Faces of Fig4: Targeting Lipids and Proteins with One Enzyme
Bethay Strunk, PhD, Trinity University
February 8, 2019 Mycobiome and Bacteriome Interactions: Role in Health and Disease
Mahmoud Ghanoum, PhD, Case Western University and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
February 15, 2019 Phage and Dental Research in Naval Medical Research Unit San Antonio
Yoon Hwang, PhD, Naval Medical Research Unit at San Antonio
February 22, 2019 Jump Around, Jump Around Transposable Element Activation in Tauopathy
Bess Frost, PhD, UT Health San Antonio
March 1, 2019 Autotaxin, a Regulator of Oligodendrocyte Differentiation and CNS Repair
Babette Fuss, PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University
March 8, 2019 Abdominal Candidiasis: Clinical Features and Studies of Pathogenesis and Antifungal Pharmacokinetics
Neil Cleancy, MD, University of Pittsburg
March 15, 2019 Spring Break
March 22, 2019 Gut Mycobiota Shapes Host Immunity and Inflammatory Diseases
Iliyan D Iliev, PhD, Weill Cornell Medical College
March 29, 2018 no seminar
April 5, 2019 Plant Synthetic Biology for the Production of Compounds with Pharmaceutical Values
Ling Yuan, PhD, University of Kentucky
April 12, 2019 Two Sides of the Same Coin: Roles of Cryptococcal and Host Eicosanoids during Cryptococcal Infection
Natalia Castro-Lopez, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
April 19, 2019 How Do New Pathogens Evolve? People, Animals, and Environment
Stanley Maloy, PhD, San Diego State University
April 26, 2019 Brucellosis: New Vaccines to Control a Neglected Zoonotic Disease
Vemulapalli Ramesh, PhD, Texas A&M University
May 3, 2019 A Double Whammy: How Misfolded Tau Could Hijack Immune System To Propagate Itself and Trigger Neuroinflammation?
Kiran Bhaskar, PhD, University of New Mexico

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 24, 2018 Bacteriome and Mycobiome Interactions Underscore Microbial Dysbiosis in Familial Crohn’s Disease
Mahmoud Ghannoum, PhD, Case Western Reserve University
August 31, 2018 New Insights into B Lymphocyte Function in Reproductive and Immunological Health
Kang Chen, PhD, Wayne State University
September 7, 2018 The Type VI Secretion System of Vibrio cholerae Modulates Intestinal Mechanics to Promote Host Invasion
Brian Hammer, PhD, Georgia Institute of Technology
September 14, 2018 Chlamydia Inc: The Business of Hijacking the Host
Mary Weber, PhD, University of Iowa
September 21, 2018 Salivary-Assisted Transmission in Vector-Borne Disease: Evidence for Cholinergic Influence on Host Immune Response
Kevin B. Temeyer, PhD, U.S. Department of Agriculture
September 28, 2018 Rickettsial Determinants for Arthropod Infection and Transmission
Kevin R. Macaluso, PhD, Louisiana State University
October 5, 2018 College of Sciences Research Conference
October 12, 2018 Development of a Safe and Effective Vaccine against Human Q Fever
Zhang Guoquan, PhD, University of Missouri
October 19, 2018 Lymphotoxin-Dependent Control of Mucosal Immune Homeostasis in the Gut
Alexie Tumanov PhD, UT Health San Antonio
October 26, 2018 Fungal Biofilm Resistance-Interrogation of the Extracellular Matrix
David Andes PhD, University of Wisconsin
November 2, 2018 TBD
Hendrik Poinar, PhD, McMaster University
November 9, 2018 Against All Odds: The Establishment of Malaria Infection
Photini Sinnis, MD, John Hopkins Malaria Research Institute
November 16, 2018 Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio Conference
November 23, 2018 Thanksgiving Break
November 30, 2018 The Role of Molecular Regulators in Immune Response against Chlamydia trachomatis
Jonathon Keck, PhD Candidate, University of Texas at San Antonio

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 12, 2018 The Human Lung Mucosa in Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infection: A Missing Piece of the Puzzle
Jordi B. Torrelles, PhD, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
January 19, 2018 History of Vaccines: From Development to Legislation
Cherise Rohr-Allegrini, PhD, MPH, The Immunization Partnership
January 26, 2018 Efficacy of Novel Epithelial Stem Cell-based AIDS Vaccine to Induce Mucosal Immune Responses Offering Protection against SIV Challenge in Macaques
Marie-Claire Gauduin, PhD, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
February 2, 2018 Hard Microbiology: The Concrete Microbiome
Julia Maresca, PhD, University of Delaware
February 9, 2018 Escherichia coli Pathovar Boundaries in the Genomics Era
Anna Allue Guardia, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
February 16, 2018 Structural Aspects of S. aureus: Host Interactions and Therapeutic mAbs
Vannakambadi K. Ganesh, PhD, Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences and Technology
February 23, 2018 Fractalkine and Modulation of Microglial Activation to Reduce Neurodegeneration
Kevin Nash, PhD, University of South Florida
March 2, 2018 Development of an Anti-Microbial Nanoemulsion for Multi-Drug Resistant Wound Infections
Suhe Wang, MD, PhD, Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences
March 9, 2018 Tick-Borne Coinfections: A Serious Emerging Health Problem in the Endemic Regions
Nikhat Praveen, PhD, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
March 16, 2018 Spring Break
March 23, 2018 Induction of Broad-Spectrum Protective Immunity against Disparate Serotypes of Cryptococcus
Marley Caballero Van Dyke, PhD Candidate, University of Texas at San Antonio
March 30, 2018 Post-Transcriptional Gene Regulation during Plasmodium Development and Transmission
Gunnar Mair, PhD, Iowa State University
April 6, 2018 Interplay between Candida albicans and Bacteria in Interkingdom Biofilm Communities
Daniel Montelongo, PhD Candidate, University of Texas at San Antonio
April 13, 2018 Mucormycosis Pathogenesis: Lessons for Development of Novel Therapies
Ashraf Ibrahim, PhD, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
April 20, 2018 Host Mechanisms Controlling Intracellular Parasitism by Cryptococcus neoformans
Paul de Figueiredo, PhD, Texas A&M University
April 27, 2018 Deciphering Self Versus Non-Self Mechanisms of the Opportunistic Pathogen Proteus mirabilis
Karine A. Gibbs, PhD, Harvard University

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 25, 2017 A "bad, Sob" Story on Lyme Disease
Janakiram Seshu, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 1, 2017 Therapeutic Implications of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus Interactions in Biofilm: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies
Mary Ann Jabra-Rizk, PhD, University of Maryland
September 8, 2017 Biomimetic Micro Environments for Biologically Revelant Cell Culture and Applications for the Treatment of Degenerative Disease
Travis Block, PhD, StemBioSys
September 15, 2017 Host / Candida albicans Interactions: Commensal Colonization or Disease?
Carol A. Kumamoto, PhD, Tufts University
September 22, 2017 Molecular Drivers of Multiple Sclerosis Autoimmunity
Mireia Guerau-de-Arellano, PharmD, PhD, Ohio State University
September 29, 2017 T Cell Triggered Acute Lung Injury by S. aureus Enterotoxin
Anthony T. Vella, PhD, UConn Health School of Medicine
October 6, 2017 College of Sciences Research Conference
October 13, 2017 The Science of Brewing and Distilling
Alan Hall, Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling
October 20, 2017 Tuberculosis: Challenges and New Translational Approaches to Study
Larry Schlesinger, PhD, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
October 27, 2017 Pseudomonas Type III Weaponry and Suppression of Plant Immunity
James Alfano, PhD, University of Nebraska
November 3, 2017 STEC in Foods – Emerging Pathogens or Emerging Problems?
Peter Feng, PhD, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
November 10, 2017 In vivo and In vitro Characterization of Novel Small Molecule Inhibitors of Candida albicans Filamentation and Biofilm Formation
Jesús Romo, PhD Candidate, University of Texas at San Antonio
November 17, 2017 Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio Conference
November 24, 2017 Thanksgiving Break
December 1, 2017 Signaling via C-type Receptors is Necessary for the Induction of Protection against Cryptococcus neoformans Infection
Althea Campuzano, PhD Candidate, University of Texas at San Antonio

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 13, 2017 The Surfer Biome Project
Cliff Kapono, PhD Candidate, University of California-San-Diego/University of Hawaii Hilo
January 20, 2017 Redox Regulation of Thymus Function and Age-Associated Dysfunction
Ann V. Griffith, PhD, UT Health San Antonio
January 27, 2017 Reemergence of the Vaccine Preventable Disease Pertussis
Rajendar Deora, PhD, Wake Forest University
February 3, 2017 Fecal Source Tracking in Environmental Waters: From Bacterial Indicators to Human Mitochondrial DNA
Vikram Kapoor, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
February 10, 2017 Precision Metagenomics for Broad Range Microbial Detection and Microbiome Characterization
Nur A. Hasan, PhD, MBA, University of Maryland-College Park
February 17, 2017 Science Communication in an Era of "Fake News"
Alex Berezow, PhD, RealClearScience founding editor and RealClearWorld associate editor
February 24, 2017 Nucleic Acids Immunity in Microbial Defense: Sensing and Signaling
Xiao-Dong Li, PhD, MD, UT Health San Antonio
March 3, 2017 Glycolipid-containing PLGA Nanoparticles Protect against Lethal Streptococcus pneumoniae Infection
Elizabeth Leadbetter, PhD, UT Health San Antonio
March 10, 2017 Harnessing Human Dendritic Cells for Enhancing Immunity & Immune Tolerance
SangKon Oh, PhD, Baylor Institute for Immunology Research
March 17, 2017 Spring Break
March 24, 2017 Monocyte and Macrophage Dysfunction: Mechanisms and Possible Therapies
Sarah Lynn Ullevig, RDN, LD, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
March 31, 2017 Regulation of Transcription and Translation: Insights from Geminivirus-Host Interactions
David M. Bisaro, PhD, Ohio State University
April 7, 2017 Genetic Interaction Mapping of the C. albicans Biofilm Transcriptional Network
Damian J. Krysan, MD, PhD, University of Rochester Medical Center
April 14, 2017 Hidden in Plain Sight: Microbial Avoidance of Host Immunity
Andrew Alspaugh, MD, Duke University Medical Center
April 21, 2017 TREM2: A Molecular Link Between Infection, Injury and Dementia
Monica Carson, PhD, University of California-Riverside
April 28, 2017 Role of Astroglia in Brain State-Dependent Modulation of Neural Activity
Martin Paukert, MD, UT Health San Antonio

Seminar Date Seminar Details
September 2, 2016 The Case for Ambitious Amateurs in Global Disease Control and Development Programs
Jason Rosenfeld, MPH, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
September 9, 2016 Inflammation and the Development of Diabetic Retinopathy
Timonthy S. Kern, PhD, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center
September 16, 2016 The Role of Fractalkine Signaling in Microglial-Mediated Pathology in Mouse Models of Diabetic Retinopathy
Andrew Mendiola, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 23, 2016 Regulation of Th17 Cell Pathogenicity in Autoimmune Disease
Mandy McGeachy, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
September 30, 2016 Resistant Enterococcus: Tracing the History of a Pathogen the Paleozoic Era to the Hospital
Michael S. Gilmore, PhD, Harvard Medical School
October 7, 2016 College of Sciences Research Conference
October 14, 2016 Host Defense Against Respiratory Infection with Acinetobacter baumannii
Wangxue Chen, PhD, National Research Council Canada
October 21, 2016 Epizootic Bovine Abortion or Foothill Abortion
Jeffrey Stott, PhD, University of California-Davis
October 28, 2016 Sex, Dimorphism, and Gut Feeling from a Fungal Perspective
Soo Chan Lee, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
November 4, 2016 Selenoproteins in Infection and Immunity
Girish S. KirimanJeswara, PhD, Pennsylvania State University
November 11, 2016 Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio Conference
November 18, 2016 A "Gut" Feeling About Malaria
Nathan W. Schmidt, PhD, University of Louisville
November 25, 2016 Thanksgiving Break
December 2, 2016 The Impact of Bacterial Competition on Human Disease
Stefan Pukatzki, PhD, University of Alberta

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 22, 2016 TBD
Mairi Noverr, PhD, Louisiana State University School of Medicine
January 29, 2016 Fungal Diomorphism, Virulence, and Host-Pathogen Interactions
Soo Chan Lee, PhD, Duke University Medical Center
February 5, 2016 Genomic Plasticity Produces Phenotypic Variation in Candida albicans
Matthew Anderson, PhD, Brown University
February 12, 2016 Microglia: A Reintroduction
Richard Ransohoff, MD, Biogen Idec
February 19, 2016 Vibrio cholerae Regulatory Evolution
Bryan Davies, PhD, University of Texas at Austin
February 26, 2016 Primates and Emerging Infectious Diseases: The Intersection of One Health and Travel Medicine
Michael Muehlebein, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
March 4, 2016 Cell Cycle Control by RNA-Protein Phase Transitions in Multinucleate Cells
Amy Gladfelter, PhD, Dartmouth University
March 11, 2016 Targeting Wolbachia to Control and Eliminate the Human Burden of Key Parasitic Worms
Case McNamara, PhD, California Institute for Biomedical Research
March 18, 2016 Spring Break
March 25, 2016 Preparing for the $1 Genome: Methods for Microbial Big Data
Adam Phillippy, PhD, National Institutes of Health
April 1, 2016 Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms Establish Persistence by Promoting Anti-Inflammatory Innate Immune Responses
Tammy Kielian, PhD, University of Nebraska Medical Center
April 8, 2016 The Evolving Paradigm for Chlamydia Immunity and Immunopathology
Raymond Johnson, MD, PhD, Yale School of Medicine
April 15, 2016 Genomic Views of Lymphocytes and Their Specification
John O'Shea, MD, National Institutes of Health
April 22, 2016 TBD
Robin Stephens, PhD, University of Texas Medical Branch
April 29, 2016 Human Cystatins: A Potential Therapeutic Agent against Human Bacterial Pathogens
Tonyia Eaves-Plyes, PhD, University of Texas Medical Branch

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 28, 2015 Exploring Within-Host Diversity and Artemisinin Resistance in Malaria Infections
Ian Cheeseman, PhD, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
September 4, 2015 Visualizing Pathogen-Specific T Cells and Making Them Perform
Stephen McSorley, PhD, University of California-Davis
September 11, 2015 Plasmodium Phenotypic Profiling for Antimalarial Drug Discovery
Kirsten Hanson PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 18, 2015 The Contribution of Motility and Cyclic-di-GMP to the Enzootic Life Cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme Disease Spirochete
Md Motaleb, PhD, East Carolina University
September 25, 2015 Enhancing a Live Attenuated Francisella novicida Vaccine for Protection against Francisella tularensis
Jesse Nguyen, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 2, 2015 Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli: Emerging Pathogens or Emerging Problems?
Peter Feng, PhD, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
October 9, 2015 College of Sciences Research Conference
October 16, 2015 Evolution and Mechanism of Host Specificity in a Mosquito-Pathogen System
Jason Rasgon, PhD, Pennsylvania State University
October 23, 2015 Microglia: A Reintroduction
Richard Ransohoff, PhD, Biogen Idec
October 30, 2015 Where Am I and What Should I Do Next? Deciphering Regulatory Networks that Control Virulence in the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi
Brian Stevenson, PhD, University of Kentucky
November 6, 2015 TGF-beta Controls T Cell Migration and Tissue Residency
Nu Zhang, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
November 13, 2015 Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio Research Conference
November 20, 2015 Engineering Vault Nanoparticles as a "Smart Vaccine" for Chlamydia trachomatis
Kathleen A. Kelly, PhD, University of California-Los Angeles
November 27, 2015 Thanksgiving Break
December 4, 2015 Classifying Shiga Toxin-Containing Escherichia coli Serotypes using Nucleotide Polymorphisms
Jim Bono, PhD, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 30, 2015 Autonomic Dysreflexia and Intestinal Dysbiosis: Novel Mechanisms of Neuro-Immune Regulation after Spinal Cord Injury
Phillip Popovich, PhD, Ohio State University College of Medicine
February 6, 2015 Dissecting the Cross-Talk among Splicing, Chromatin Structure and TFs
Victor Jin, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
February 13, 2015 Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Invasive Pneumococcal Disease
Carlos Orihuela, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
February 20, 2015 Clinical and Biological Significance of CXCL13-CXCR5 Interactions in Prostate Cancer Progression and Health Disparities
James W. Lillard, PhD, Morehouse School of Medicine
March 6, 2015 Knowing is Half the Battle: Host-Pathogen Interactions Elucidate Host Defenses and Guide Drug Discovery
Natalia Kirienko, PhD, Harvard Medical School
March 16, 2015 Interplay Between Genes, Diet and Gut Microbiota in Intestinal Health
Nagendra Singh, PhD, Georgia Regents University
March 27, 2015 Low Grade Gliomas from Bench to Bedside
Mitchel S. Berger, MD, University of California-San Francisco
April 3, 2015 STAT1-Mediated Macrophage Activation is Required for Protection against Cryptococcus neoformans
Chrissy Leopold-Wager, University of Texas at San Antonio
April 10, 2015 Living in Two Worlds: Understanding Metal Biology in the Lyme Disease Spirochete
Xin Lin, PhD, Tufts University School of Medicine
April 17, 2015 Development of a High-Resolution Phylogenomic Framework for Outbreak Investigations and Virulence Studies of Escherichia Coli O157:H7
Fatemeh Sanjar, University of Texas at San Antonio
April 24, 2015 Generation and Function of Engineered Human Specific Regulatory T Cells: CARs or CARTs
David Scott, PhD, Uniformed Services University for the Health Sciences

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 29, 2014 Induction of Protective Immunity Against Cryptococcosis – an HIV-related Opportunistic Infection
Floyd Wormley Jr, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 5, 2014 Role of the JAK/STAT Signaling Pathway in Neuroinflammatory Diseases
Etty "Tika" Benveniste, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
September 12, 2014 Nonclassical HLA-E (HLA-Ib)-Restricted CD8+ T cells in HIV Infections and Implications in HIV
June Kan-Mitchell, PhD, University of Texas at El Paso
September 19, 2014 Importance and Exploitation of Ebola Virus Genomic Plasticity
Anthony Griffiths, PhD, Texas Biomedical Research Institute
September 26, 2014 The Human Microbiome in Health & Disease: Insights for Personalized Medicine
Emmanuel Mongodin, PhD, Institute for Genome Sciences
October 3, 2014 College of Sciences Research Conference
October 10, 2014 Bacterial Quorum Sensing, Social Cheats and Darwin's Dilemma-Cooperating Groups of the Opportunistic Pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa
John LaCava, PhD, Rockefeller University
October 17, 2014 Glucan Particles as a Targeted Antigen, Adjuvant and siRNA Delivery System
E. Peter Greenberg, PhD, University of Washington
October 24, 2014 High-Throughput Cryo-Electron Tomography: Visualizing Type III Secretion Machines in Bacterial Pathogens
Gary Ostroff, PhD, University of Massachusetts Medical School
October 31, 2014 Molecular and Cellular Pathogenesis of Emerging Zoonoses caused by Anaplasma and Ehrlichia
Jun Liu, PhD, UT Health Science Center at Houston
November 7, 2014 Rules of Engagement: Pathogen Response to the Environment of Invasive Infection
Yasuko Rikihisa, PhD, Ohio State University
November 14, 2014 Vaccine Development Center of San Antonio Research Conference
November 21, 2014 Autonomic Dysreflexia and Intestinal Dysbiosis: Novel Mechanisms of Neuro-Immune Regulation after Spinal Cord Injury
Aaron Mitchell, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University
November 28, 2014 Thanksgiving Break
December 5, 2014 no seminar

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 24, 2014 Identifying Protective Chlamydial Antigens and Women Who Would Most Benefit from a Vaccine
Toni Darville, PhD, University of Pittsburg School of Medicine
January 31, 2014 EHEC Sings, Pour Some Sugar on Me
Vanessa Sperandio, PhD, UT Southwestern School of Medicine
February 7, 2014 Using Transposon Site Hybridization and Gnotobiotic Mice to Study Salmonella Interactions with Other Microbes
Brian Ahmer, PhD, Ohio State University
February 14, 2014 Swine Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Isolates Form Robust Biofilms
Tracy L. Nicholson, PhD, National Animal Disease Center-ARS-USDA
February 21, 2014 Faculty Candidate Seminar
February 28, 2014 Faculty Candidate Seminar
March 7, 2014 Identification of New Compounds Against Fungal Sphingolipids
Maurizio del Poeta, PhD, Stony Brook University
March 14, 2014 Spring Break
March 21, 2014 Notch One Up for Multiple Sclerosis Therapy
William J. Karpus, PhD, Northwestern University
March 28, 2014 Faculty Candidate Seminar
April 4, 2014 TBD
Patrick Ketter, PhD Candidate, University of Texas at San Antonio
April 11, 2014 Faculty Candidate Seminar
April 18, 2014 Functional Genomics: From Microarray to Next Generation Sequencing
Zhao Lai, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
April 25, 2014 Suppressive Myeloid Cells: Possible Homeostatic Mechanism in Chronic Inflammation
Xin Li, PhD, Ohio State University

Seminar Date Seminar Details
September 6, 2013 Systems Biology of Plasmodium falciparum: Building and Exploring Network Models
Yufeng Wang, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 13, 2013 Chemokine Receptors CX3CR1 and CCR2 Regulate Mononuclear Cell Lineages in the CNS
Astrid E. Cardona, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 20, 2013 A Role for Mast Cells during Influenza Virus Infection
Joshua Obar, PhD, Montana State University
September 27, 2013 Phylogenomics of Enteric Pathogens: Insights into Evolution and Pathogenesis
David A. Rasko, PhD, University of Maryland School of Medicine
October 4, 2013 Bacterial Manipulations of Host Protein Stability are Required for Growth
Michael Starnbach, PhD, Harvard School of Medicine
October 11, 2013 When Chlamydia STINGs It's Not Always Bad
Jeffrey Barker, PhD, Duke University Medical Center
October 18, 2013 College of Sciences Research Conference
October 25, 2013 C-type Lectin Receptors Differentially Induce Th17 Cells and Vaccine Immunity to the Endemic Mycosis of North America
Marcel Wuethrich, PhD, University of Wisconsin
November 1, 2013 Different Stories and Challenges for Two Accidental Human Pathogens - Bacillus anthracis and Coxiella burnetii
Talima Pearson, PhD, Northern Arizona University
November 8, 2013 Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell (MDSC): From Immune Evasion to Immune Therapy
Ping-Ying Pan, PhD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
November 15, 2013 San Antonio Vaccine Development Center Research Conference
November 22, 2013 Role of Plasma Membrane Architecture in C. albicans Virulence
James Konopka, PhD, Stony Brook University
November 29, 2013 Thanksgiving Break
December 6, 2013 Protein Biomarkers for the Acute and Chronic Phases of Traumatic Brain Injury
Kevin K.W. Wang, PhD, University of Florida

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 25, 2013 Dissection of the Burkholderia Intercellular Life Cycle Using a Photothermal Nanoblade
Jeff Miller, PhD, University of California-Los Angeles
February 1, 2013 Dynamic Shiga Toxin-Encoding Bacteriophage and the Problems They Cause
Ed Dudley, PhD, Pennsylvania State University
February 8, 2013 Ins and Outs of Iron Acquisition in Francisella tularensis
Girija Ramakrishnan, PhD, University of Virginia School of Medicine
February 15, 2013 Integrative Systems Biology Approaches to Studying Human Complex Diseases
Zhongming Zhao, PhD, MS, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
February 22, 2013 Evolution of Respiratory Pathogens
Eric Harvill, PhD, Pennsylvania State University
March 1, 2013 Astrocyte-Secreted Sonic Hedgehog Sustains Blood Brain Barrier Properties and Promotes CNS Immune Quiescence
Jorge Alvarez, PhD, Centre Hospitalier De L'Université de Montréal
March 8, 2013 Mapping Malaria Genes Linked to Chemical Responses and Virulence
Xin-zhuan Su, PhD, NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
March 15, 2013 Spring Break
March 22, 2013 Differential Involvement of Inflammasome Molecules During Central Nervous System Bacterial Infection
Tammy Kielian, PhD, University of Nebraska Medical Center
March 29, 2013 The Aging Brain: A Permissive Environment for the Progression of Neurological Disorders
Linella Gemma, PhD, University of Washington
April 5, 2013 TBD
Monica Carson, PhD, University of California-Riverside
April 12, 2013 The Vaginal Microbiome in Health and Disease
Jacques Ravel, PhD, University of Maryland School of Medicine
April 19, 2013 A Status Report on Dendritic Cells' Mechanisms of Transcriptional Control
Stephanie Watowich, PhD, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
April 26, 2013 TBD
Arturo Casadevall, MD, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Seminar Date Seminar Details
September 7, 2012 Intramacrophage Survival and Replication of Francisella tularensis
Karl Klose, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 14, 2012 Candida Biofilms and Antifungal Drug Resistance
Jose Lopez-Ribot, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 21, 2012 Induction of Protection Against Pulmonary Cryptococcosis
Floyd Wormley Jr., PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 5, 2012 College of Sciences Research Conference
October 12, 2012 TBD
Mark Eppinger, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 19, 2012 TBD
Garry Sunter, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 26, 2012 TBD
Chiung-Yu Hung, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
November 2, 2012 Molecular-Scale Distance Measurements in Live Bacterial Cells
Robert Renthal, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
November 16, 2012 San Antonio Vaccine Development Center Research Conference
November 23, 2012 Thanksgiving Break
November 30, 2012 TBD
Anand Ramasubramanian, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
December 7, 2012 TBD
Yufeng Wang, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 20, 2012 Aptamer Applications in Detection and Treatment of Infectious Diseases
John Bruno, Operational Technologies Corporation
January 22, 2012 Mycobacterium tuberculosis MtrA Response Regulator: From Replication to Persistence
Murty Madiraju, VVS, PhD, UT Health Science Center at Tyler
January 27, 2012 High Content Screening for the Identification of Novel Antifungal Agents Targeting Candida albicans Biofilm Formation and Filamentation
Christopher Pierce, University of Texas at San Antonio
February 3, 2012 Targeting the Atypical IKK Family Members for Cancer and Inflammatory Diseases
Seng-Lai Tan, Roche Pharmaceuticals
February 9, 2012 TBD
Kai Leong, Brooke Army Medical Center
February 17, 2012 Faculty Candidate Seminar
Microbial Genomics Faculty Candidate
February 24, 2012 TBD
Blanca Restrepo, UT Health Science Center-Houston
March 2, 2012 Faculty Candidate Seminar
Microbial Genomics Faculty Candidate
March 9, 2012 Faculty Candidate Seminar
Microbial Genomics Faculty Candidate
March 16, 2012 Spring Break
March 23, 2012 Faculty Candidate Seminar
Microbial Genomics Faculty Candidate
March 30, 2012 Fear the Titans: When Bad Yeast Get Worse
Kirsten Nielsen, PhD, University of Minnesota
April 6, 2012 Regulatory RNAs in Bacillus subtilis
Wade Winkler, PhD, University of Maryland
April 13, 2012 Yersinia pestis Divalent Cation Transport Mechanisms, Regulation, and Roles in the Progression of Bubonic Plague
Robert Perry, PhD, University of Kentucky
April 20, 2012 Variations in TcdB and The Emergence of Hypervirulent Strains of Clostridium difficile
Jimmy Ballard, PhD, Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
April 27, 2012 Cracking a Tough Nut: Deciphering the Role of Type III Secretion in Chlamydia Pathogenesis
Ken Fields, PhD, University of Miami
May 4, 2012 What is Good About BadR of the Agent of Lyme Disease
Christine L. Miller, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 26, 2011 Role of the Mevalonate Pathway in the Patho-Physiology of Borrelia burgdorferi
Tricia Van Laar, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 2, 2011 Wrestling with the Flu: Interactions Between the Cellular SUMOylation System and Influenza Virus
German Rosas-Acosta, MSc, PhD, University of Texas at El Paso
September 9, 2011 Macrophage Activation During Pulmonary Cryptococcosis
Sarah Hardison, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 16, 2011 Evasion of Host Immune Response by Francisella tularensis: A Signaling Point of View
Chandra Shekhar Baskhi, DMV, PhD, New York Medical College
September 23, 2011 Mycoplasma, CARDS Toxin, Airway Disease and Beyond: A "Cold Case" Scenario
Joel B. Baseman, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
September 30, 2011 College of Sciences Research Conference
October 7, 2011 Studying the Role of the RpoN/RpoS Regulatory Network in the Infectious Lifecycle of Borrelia burgdorferi
Jon S. Blevins, PhD, University of Arkansas Medical School
October 14, 2011 Micromanagement and Epigenetic Remodeling in Stem Cells
Chin-Hsing Annie Lin, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 21, 2011 TBD
Brad D. Jones, PhD, University of Iowa
October 28, 2011 Characterizing "Tick Spit" Proteins to Understand Tick Feeding Biology
Albert Mulenga, PhD, Texas A&M University
November 4, 2011 Spermatogonial Stem Cells in Male Germline Development, Spermatogenesis, and Regeneration
TBD
November 11, 2011 The Unusual Flagellar Organelles of Campylobacter jejuni
David Hendrixson, PhD, UT Southwestern
November 18, 2011 San Antonio Infectious Disease Research Symposium
November 25, 2011 Thanksgiving Break
December 2, 2011 "Gut Feeling" - The Origin of Necrotizing Enterocolitis by Cronobacter sakazakii
Prasadarao Nemani, PhD, University of Southern California
December 9, 2011 TBD
Ryland F. Young III, PhD, Texas A&M University

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 14, 2011 Candida glabrata Adhesins: Regulation and Functional Diversity
Brendan Cormack, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
January 21, 2011 Superhero Superoxide Dismutase
Valeria Culotta, PhD, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
January 28, 2011 Bugs on the Brain: Cell Entry, Migration and Control Within the Parasitized Parenchyma
Emma Wilson, PhD, University of California-Riverside
February 4, 2011 Perspectives on Environmental Biofilms and Public Health
Kyle Murray, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
February 11, 2011 Preventing Influenza Virus: Bacteria Super-Infections through Vaccination
Kyle Murray, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
February 18, 2011 Building a Synthetic Cell
Daniel Gibson, PhD, J. Craig Venter Institute
February 25, 2011 Exploring Mixed Culture Interactions in Bacterial Biofilms
Robert McLean, PhD, Texas State University
March 4, 2011 Salmonella and the Gut Mucosal Barrier: Dichotomies of Help and Harm
Manuela Raffatellu, MD, University of California-Irvine
March 11, 2011 Streambeds: Physical Properties, Patterns of Instability, and Implications for the Storage and Release of Pathogens
Judy Haschenburger, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
March 18, 2011 Spring Break
March 25, 2011 Signaling During Clearance of Apoptotic Cells: Invitation to a Good Meal
Kodi Ravichandran, BVSc, PhD, University of Virginia
April 1, 2011 Conservation of Dimorphism and Virulence in a Non-Canonical Dimorphic Fungus: Cryptococcus
Xiaorong Lin, PhD, Texas A&M University
April 8, 2011 Sea Ice Biology and Biogeochemistry-Interactions with Climate and Ecosystems
Stephen Ackley, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
April 15, 2011 How Do Protein Toxins Cross Membranes? The Anthrax Toxin Mechanism
John Collier, PhD, Harvard Medical School
April 22, 2011 Role of MEQ Oncogene in the Pathogenesis of Marek’s Disease Virus
Sanjay Reddy, PhD, MS, BVSc, Texas A&M University
April 29, 2011 Structural Basis for Vibrio cholerae MARTX Toxin Dependent Evasion of Innate Immunity
Karla Satchell, PhD, Northwestern University
May 6, 2011 The Vibrio Cholerae Virulence Regulator ToxT
Gregor Weber, University of Texas at San Antonio

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 27, 2010 The Mycobacterium tuberculosis Divisome
Malini Rajagopalan, PhD, UT Health Science Center at Tyler
September 3, 2010 Subversion of Macrophage Function by the Q Fever Agent, Coxiella burnetii
Daniel E. Voth, PhD, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
September 10, 2010 Surfactant Modulation of Pulmonary Immune Responses to Francisella
Tonyia D. Eaves-Pyles, PhD, University of Texas Medical Branch
September 17, 2010 Studies of Campylobacter jejuni Using a Natural Host Model of Infection
Victor J. DiRita, PhD, University of Michigan
September 24, 2010 Turning the Outside In: A Novel Role for CD8+ T-Cell Control of the Extracellular Pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
Molly Bergman, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
October 1, 2010 The Biology of the Human Blood-Nerve Barrier Ex Vivo. Implications for Peripheral Nerve Inflammation and Repair
Eroboghene E. Ubogu, MD, Baylor College of Medicine
October 8, 2010 The Innate Road to Inflammation During Genital Chlamydial Infection
Uma M. Nagarajan, PhD, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
October 15, 2010 New Techniques to Study Biological Materials with Electron Microscope; How to Induce Contrast Without Destroying Sample Information
Miguel Jose-Yacaman, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 22, 2010 Genomic Reconstruction and Targeting NAD Biogenesis in Acinetobacter
Andrei Osterman, PhD, Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute
October 29, 2010 Cryptococcus: An Emerging, Sickly, Sweet Yeast in Outbreak Status
John R. Perfect, MD, Duke University School of Medicine
November 5, 2010 Proteomics and Animal Models of Leptospirosis
Jarlath E. Nally, PhD, University College Dublin
November 12, 2010 Regulation by the RNA Binding Protein CsrA and its RNA Antagonists
Tony Romeo, PhD, University of Florida
November 19, 2010 Complex Molecular Processes that Influence Bacterial Survival and the Potential for Disease
Glenn M. Young, PhD, University of California-Davis
November 26, 2010 Thanksgiving Break
December 3, 2010 RANKL and Differentiation of Antigen-Sampling M Cells in the Intestine
Ifor Williams, MD, PhD, Emory University School of Medicine
December 10, 2010 Diversity in Chlamydial Pathogens of Mice – Is There More than Meets the Eye?
Kyle Ramsey, PhD, Midwestern University

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 15, 2010 Characterization of Chronic Respiratory Sequelae in Adult Mice Following Pulmonary Chlamyia muridarum Infection as Neonates
Madhulika Jupelli, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
January 22, 2010 Mycobacterium tuberculosis MtrA Response Regulator: From Replication to Persistence
Murty Madiraju, VVS, PhD, UT Health Science Center-Tyler
January 29, 2010 Identification of Active Sites of Carbohydrate Complexes Toward Ligands in Aqueous Solution
Orkid Coskuner, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
February 5, 2010 Genetic Regulation of Virulence in Francisella tularensis
Stephen Rodriguez, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
February 12, 2010 New Technologies in Using Recombinant Attenuated Salmonella Vaccine Vectors
Roy Curtiss III, PhD, Arizona State University
February 19, 2010 Mechanism-Based Approaches to Developing Novel Technologies for Tick and Biting Fly Control
Andrew Li, PhD, Livestock Insects Research Laboratory, Kerrville
February 26, 2010 Poxvirus Immune Evasion Mechanisms
Yan Xiang, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
March 5, 2010 Exploring Llama Single Domain Antibodies as Rugged Countermeasures for Filoviruses and Botulinum Neurotoxins
Andrew Hayhurst, PhD, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research
March 12, 2010 Tough Economic Times: The Frugal Foundation of Bacterial Communities
Matthew Chapman, PhD, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
March 19, 2010 Spring Break
March 26, 2010 A Tale of Three Intracellular Pathogens: From Cell Biology to Novel Vaccine Strategies
Marcus Horwitz, PhD, UCLA Health Sciences
April 2, 2010 The Fungal Vacuole: More Than Just a Trash Can?
Glen Palmer, PhD, Louisiana State University Health Science Center
April 9, 2010 Acinetobacter baumannii: Is There Any Hope for Treatment?
David Burgess, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
April 16, 2010 At the Bleeding Edge: Notes from a Genome Center
Seth Crosby, PhD, Washington University-St. Louis
April 23, 2010 T-bet or not T-bet, That is the Question (in Autoimmunity)
Amy Lovett-Racke, PhD, Ohio State University
April 30, 2010 TBD
Sunil Ahuja, MD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
May 7, 2010 TBD
Guy Palmer, DVM, PhD, Washington State University
May 14, 2010 Mechanisms Responsible for Secondary Bacterial Infections Following Influenza
Dennis Metzger, PhD, Albany Medical College

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 28, 2009 Proteomic Discovery of Protein Biomarkers of Drug Resistance
William Haskins, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 4, 2009 Nonhuman Primate Model for HIV/AIDS: Lessons Learned Toward an Effective AIDS Vaccine
William Haskins, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 11, 2009 Role of Toll-like Receptor 2 in Inflammation and Pathology in a Murine Model of Neurocysticercosis
Uma Mahesh Gundra, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 18, 2009 Regulation of T-Cell Mediated Immunity by the Notch Signaling Pathway
Todd Eagar, PhD, UT Southwestern Medical School
September 25, 2009 Regulation of Virulence Genes by the Vibrio cholerae Flagellar Hierachy
Khalid Syed, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 2, 2009 Metabolic Strategies to Regulate Leukocyte Adhesion During Inflammation
Sriram Neelamegham, PhD, State University of New York at Buffalo
October 16, 2009 We Know the Pieces of Bacterial Chemoreceptors. How Do They Fit Together to Carry Out Transmembrane Signaling?
Texas A&M University
October 23, 2009 Calcium- and Cell Contact-Regulated Injection of Virulence Proteins by Yersinia pestis, the Causative Agent of Plague
Gregory V. Plano, PhD, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
October 30, 2009 How Does Malaria Predispose Children to Non-Typhoidal Salmonella bacteremia?
Renee Tsolis, PhD, University of California-Davis School of Medicine
November 6, 2009 Anthrax Toxin Receptors: New Targets for Induction of Mucosal Immunity
Prosper Boyaka, PhD, Ohio State University
November 13, 2009 Good Food and Conversation: Molecular Approaches to Understanding the Physiology of the Squid-Vibrio Symbiosis
Edward Ruby, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health
November 20, 2009 The Evolution and Emergence of Chlamydiaceae Species and Strains: What We Are Learning from Mixed Infections, Genetic Reshuffling and Host Jumping
Deborah Dean, PhD, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute
November 27, 2009 Thanksgiving Break
December 4, 2009 Salmonella Immunity and Membrane Vesicles
Robert Alaniz, PhD, Texas A&M Health Science Center
December 11, 2009 A Unique View of the Evolution of a New Signal Transduction Pathway in Candida albicans: A Paradigm
David Soll, PhD, University of Iowa

Seminar Date Seminar Details
January 16, 2009 Applications of Human Embryonic Stem Cells in Developmental Biology and Disease Modeling
Christopher Navara, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
January 23, 2009 Neutrophil Accumulation in Bacterial Pneumonia
Samithamby Jeyaseelan, PhD, Louisiana State University
January 30, 2009 Emergence of Novel Retroviruses
Thomas M. Folks, PhD, Southwest National Primate Research Center
February 6, 2009 Determination of Morphology and Virulence in Candida albicans
David Kadosh, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
February 13, 2009 Misfolded Copper-Zinc Superoxide Dismutase and Motor Neuron Disease
P. John Hart, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
February 20, 2009 Rift Valley Fever (RVF): An Integrated Approach to Controlling RVF in Africa and the Middle East
Mustapha Debboun, Colonel, US Army Medical Department Center & School, Fort Sam Houston
February 27, 2009 Drug Resistance Evolution in Malaria Parasites
Timothy J.C. Anderson, PhD, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research
March 6, 2009 Amorphous Computing and Synthetic Biology – Where Computation and Fabrication Meet
Zack Simpson, Mine Control and University of Texas at Austin
March 13, 2009 Spring Break
March 20, 2009 Host Resistance and Susceptibility to Mucosal Candidiasis: How Different Can Two Sites of Infection Be?
Paul Fidel Jr., PhD, Louisiana State University School of Dentistry
March 27, 2009 Ducks, Avian Influenza, and the Texas Coast: A Winter Wonderland
Blanca Lupiani, PhD, Texas A&M University
April 3, 2009 Bacteria Harden Their Armor: Remodeling of Gram-Negative Lipopolysaccharide
M. Stephen Trent, PhD, University of Texas at Austin
April 10, 2009 Mutational Analysis of Ip54-Encoded Genes of the Agent of Lyme Disease
Mahulena Maruskova, PhD Student, University of Texas at San Antonio
April 17, 2009 New Insight into Obligate Parasitism by the Q Fever Bacterium Coxiella burnetii
Robert Heinzen, PhD, NIH National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases
April 24, 2009 Immune Responses in Effective and Ineffective Vaccination Strategies Against Respiratory Tularemia in Mice
Wangxue Chen, PhD, Canada Research Council
May 1, 2009 Pathogenesis of Lyme Neuroborreliosis
Mario Philipp, PhD, Tulane University Health Sciences Center

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 29, 2008 Regulation of Host Gene Expression by Geminivirus AL2 Protein
Gabriela Lacatus, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 5, 2008 The Role of Dendritic Cells in the Immune Response to Cryptococcus neoformans
Karen Wozniak, PhD, University of Massachusetts Medical School
September 12, 2008 Microarray Analysis of Gene Expression in the Southern Cattle Tick Associated with Infection by Babesia bovis, the Causative Agent of Cattle Fever
Felix Guerrero, PhD, USDA-Kerrville
September 19, 2008 Proteomic and Functional Studies of the Molecular Interactions Between Trypanosoma cruzi and Host Cells
Igor Almeida, PhD, University of Texas at El Paso
September 26, 2008 HCV Infection and Vaccine Strategies
Krishna K. Murthy, PhD, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research
October 3, 2008 The Effects of Aging on Tolerance to AChR, the Autoanitgen in Myasthenia gravis
Ellen Kraig, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
October 10, 2008 The Host Response to Chlamydiae – New Directions
Roger Rank, PhD, Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute
October 17, 2008 Cellular Bioengineering: Models for Vascular Pathophysiology and Toxicology
Anand K Ramasubramanain, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 24, 2008 Now Infecting More Than 3 Billion People: Helicobacter pylori, the Most Successful Pathogen in the World
Scotty Merril, PhD, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
October 31, 2008 Host-Virus Interactions: From Pathogenesis to Therapeutics of an Oncogenic Herpesvirus Associated with AIDS-Kaposi’s Sarcoma
Shou-Jiang Gao, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
November 7, 2008 Host-Pathogen Interactions in the Development of Lyme Disease and Melioidosis
Mark Wooten, PhD, Medical College of Ohio
November 14, 2008 Genetic Dissection of Candida albicans Biofilm Formation
Aaron Mitchell, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University
November 21, 2008 Tackling the Genetically "Intractables": New Insights into the Biology of Obligate Bacterial Pathogens through Functional Genomics
Raphael Valdivia, PhD, Duke University
November 28, 2008 Thanksgiving Break
December 5, 2008 no seminar
December 12, 2008 Cytolysin-Mediated Perforation of the Phagocytic Vacuole: Application to Antigen Discovery and Vaccine Development
Darrin Higgins, PhD, Harvard University

Seminar Date Seminar Details
February 1, 2008 How Microbes Detoxify Diatomic Oxygen and Nitrogen Species: The Non-Heme Iron Reductive Paradigm
Donald Kurtz, PhD, University of Texas At San Antonio
February 8, 2008 Unwanted Visitors: Intestinal Persistence of Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium
Helene Andrews-Polymenis, PhD, Texas A&M University
February 15, 2008 Cancer Antigen Discovery for Translational Work
Maurizio Chiriva, PhD, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
February 22, 2008 Brain Iron and Prion Disorders: An Ironic Connection
Neena Singh, MD, PhD, Case Western University
March 7, 2008 Campylobacter jejuni Pathogenesis: Secretion of Virulence Proteins from the Flagellar Apparatus
Neena Singh, MD, PhD, Washington State University
March 14, 2008 Identification of Amino Acids in the Vibrio cholerae Virulence Regulator ToxT Involved in Environmental Sensing
Brandon Childers, PhD Student, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
March 21, 2008 Spring Break
March 28, 2008 Black Death, Black Spot, Black Pearl: Tales of Bacterial Effectors
Kim Orth, PhD, UT Southwestern
April 4, 2008 Mycobacterial Immunity: Don’t Mess with the Granulomas
Matyas Sandor, PhD, University of Wisconsin
April 11, 2008 Carbohydrate Pattern Recognition in Lung Anti-Fungal Immunity
Chad Steele, PhD, University of Alabama-Birmingham
April 18, 2008 Molecular Genetic Analysis of Transmission of Vibrio cholerae
Andy Camilli, PhD, Tufts University School of Medicine
April 25, 2008 Immunity to Chlamydial Genital Infection: The Shifting Paradigm
Rick Morrison, PhD, University of Arkansas
May 9, 2008 Toxoplasma gondii - a Master Manipulator in the Dialogue Between the Pathogen and Host Cell
Anthony Sinai, PhD, University of Kentucky College of Medicine

Seminar Date Seminar Details
August 24, 2007 Reprogramming of Host Cell Activities by the Protozoan Parasite Toxoplasma gondii
Anthony Sinai, PhD, University of Kentucky College of Medicine
August 31, 2007 Targeted Mucosal Vaccination Strategy against Genital Chlamydial Infection
Ashlesh Murthy, PhD, University of Texas At San Antonio
September 7, 2007 Regulation of Host Immune Responses to Leishmania Parasites
Lynn Soong, PhD, University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston
September 14, 2007 Host and Pathogen Interactions in a Murine Model of Pneumonic Plague
Sarah Bubeck, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
September 21, 2007 Sterol Gene Regulation and Drug Resistance in the Pathogenic Fungus, Candida albicans
Theodore C. White, PhD, University of Washington
September 28, 2007 Evasion of Natural T-Cell Tolerance by "Type B" T-Cells in the Pathogenesis of Human Autoimmune Diseases
Thomas Forsthuber, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio
October 5, 2007 Host-Pathogen Interactions in a Mouse Model of Bacterial Brain Abscess and Modulation of Tissue Injury
Tammy Kielian, PhD, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine
October 12, 2007 Evolutionary Immunoinformatics: Host-Pathogen Coevolution Informs Vaccine Candidate Prioritization
Daniel Neafsey, PhD, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
October 19, 2007 Salmonella Sensing of and Adaptation to the In-Vivo Environment
John Gunn, PhD, Ohio State University
October 26, 2007 Tales from the Gut: Pathogenesis of Salmonella Gastroenteritis, Typhoid Fever, and Bacteremia
Andreas Baumler, PhD, University of California-Davis School of Medicine
November 2, 2007 Characterization of the Francisella tularensis Secreted Protein VgrG
Jeffrey Barker, PhD, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
November 16, 2007 Glucan-binding Proteins are Required to Maintain Streptococcus mutans Biofilm Architecture
Jeffery A. Banas, PhD, University of Iowa College of Dentistry
November 23, 2007 Thanksgiving Break
November 30, 2007 Activation and Counter-Regulation in the Innate Immune System
Christopher Karp, MD, University of Cincinnati
December 7, 2007 Synergistic Induction of Inflammation by Bacterial Products: An Important Microbial Pathogenic Mechanism
Z. Kevin Pan, MD, PhD, University of Toledo Health Science Campus College of Medicine, MIT
December 14, 2007 Functional Genomics of Francisella tularensis: Vaccines and Diagnostics
Joseph Petrosino, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine