Nine Seed Grants - Quintessentially Wadsworth Center

Alex Ciota, Ph.D.

Understanding how temperature and humidity interact to influence mosquito fitness and West Nile virus (WNV) transmission

This project strikes out in a new direction for the Ciota Lab. Traditionally focusing on the genetics of the virus, they now turn to the mosquitoes themselves, trying to understand moisture as an environmental driver of transmission. With the award, they will purchase humidity-controlled incubators that simulate current and predicted environmental levels of relative humidity. This will allow the lab to assess the impact of humidity on transmission, vector competence, biting rate and lifespan. These data will enable development of risk-based maps of regional predictions that inform public health actions.
 

Brian Duffy, Ph.D.

Identification and Quantitation of Contaminant Siloxanes in Drinking and Surface Waters

The use of siloxanes as cleaning agents of unknown toxicity has exploded in recent years. Methods currently exist to detect siloxanes in cosmetics, food and more. In Europe strict siloxane levels have been set; however, environmental levels, especially in drinking and surface waters, are unknown. Dr. Duffy has taken on the challenge of developing extraction and quantitation methods that overcome these hurdles.
 

Nicholas Mantis, Ph.D.            Sudha Chaturvedi, Ph.D.

Antibody-based medical countermeasures for multidrug resistant Candida auris

This relatively new pathogen crashed onto the scene only 15 years ago, with many C. auris infections resistant to nearly all traditional treatments and with a 60% mortality rate in NY. Drs. Mantis and Chaturvedi are working to discover new antibody-based avenues to treat the infections, in addition to developing approaches to stopping the spread of the infection. Studies have shown that C. auris is salt tolerant, surviving in sweat glands and hair follicles, so they are trying to better understand host/pathogen dynamics in the skin, potentially leading to a topical treatment that would interrupt transmission.
 

Jon Paczkowski, Ph.D.

Exploring the role of protein-protein interactions in controlling promoter selection and gene expression of LuxR-type transcription factors in pathogenic bacteria

An unexpected discovery in Dr. Paczkowski’s Lab has them collaborating with fellow Wadsworth Center researchers, upending the paradigm held for 30 years that small signal molecules had to surpass a certain threshold to turn on/off genes involved in pathogenesis. Dr. Paczkowski believes regulation is not like an on/off switch, but rather a dimmer switch, and they are studying multiple pathogenic organisms to prove it.
 

Brian Duffy, Ph.D.

Not pictured: Lingyun Li, Ph.D.

Characterization of the Incorporation of Both Free and Covalently Bound Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylic Acids (PFCA's) into Plant and Mammal Triglycerides and Phosphatidyl Cholines

Carpet, clothing, food packaging, dust and even drinking water may contain PFCA’s. In their free form, PFCAs are believed to interfere with biological processes such as increasing cholesterol levels. Drs. Duffy and Li are examining if free PFCA’s are biomimetic building blocks and are accidentally incorporated into triglycerides and cell walls.
 

Pallavi Ghosh, Ph.D.

Characterization of WhiB proteins in Mycobacterium abscessus

M. abscessus is a highly antibiotic resistant, opportunistic pathogen of special concern for those with cystic fibrosis. Antibiotic exposure leads to an induction of a large number of genes, several of which are under the control of WhiB7. Dr. Ghosh is studying the role of the WhiB family of proteins in cellular processes and antibiotic resistance.  
 

Todd Gray, Ph.D.

Functional Membrane Microdomains in Mycobacteria

Dr. Gray proposes to determine whether the membranes of mycobacteria have specialized microdomains that form sites of protein secretion. He will focus on a class of proteins called flotillins, which he proposes are localized to membrane microdomains and are important for contact dependent cell-cell signaling. Flotillins are conserved in other mycobacteria, suggesting their function--and microdomains--are relevant to pathogenic species.
 

Jennifer Yates, Ph.D. Photo credit University at Albany Office of Communications and Marketing

Development of a Novel Multiplex Serology Assay for the Diagnosis of Chagas Disease 

Chagas disease, also known as American Trypanosomiasis, is caused by the parasite T. cruzi. Chronic infection with the parasite is life-long and largely asymptomatic, resulting in delayed access to treatment, congenital infections, and potential contamination of the blood and organ supply. This project seeks to develop a single test, which is both sensitive and specific to this genetically diverse pathogen.
 

Jon Paczkowski, Ph.D.    Anil Ojha, Ph.D.

Community dynamics of the lung pathogens Mycobacterium abscessus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

P. aeruginosa is a common cause of lung infections, but often not alone. Co-infection with M. abscessus is frequent. When these two are grown together in the lab, changes in ribosome structure, gene transcription and other chemical processes are observed in M. abscessus. It is known that Pseudomonas cells “communicate” among themselves by quorum sensing, but Drs. Paczkowski and Ojha will investigate whether they may also be “communicating” with M. abscessus and if that causes the changes observed.