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Interdisciplinary Center for Ongoing Research / Education
2008 Program: Participating Faculty
Anthony Barbet, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine
barbeta@vetmed.ufl.edu
http://patho.vetmed.ufl.edu/faculty_barbet.htm
Dr. Barbet’s research interests include defining the mechanisms that bacteria use for pathogenesis coupled with the development of recombinant vaccines and improved methods of diagnosis.
David Bloom, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine
DBloom@mgm.ufl.edu
http://www.mgm.ufl.edu/faculty/dbloom.htm
Dr. Bloom’s research is focused on discovering the genetics behind the activation of dormant Herpes Simplex Virus. A second goal of his lab is to determine the transcription mechanisms that throw this virus into its latent state. The final focus of Dr. Bloom’s lab is to use Herpes Simplex Virus as a vector for delivering gene therapy to certain areas such as to the eye for the treatment of recurrent stromal keratitis.
Luciano Brocchieri, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine
lucianob@ufl.edu
http://www.mgm.ufl.edu/faculty/lbrocchieri.htm
Dr. Brocchieri is currently participating in a wide variety of research areas including: determining phylogenetic relationships with DNA sequencing data, investigating determinants in the evolution of proteins and DNA, studying the evolution of chaperones in eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms, and researching the genetics of the herpes viruses.
Daniel Brown, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine
brownd@vetmed.ufl.edu
http://patho.vetmed.ufl.edu/faculty_brown_dr.htm
Dr. Brown’s research interests include focusing on host cell responses elicited by interactions with microorganisms. He has ongoing research on new bacterial pathogens and commensal organisms, bacterial genome sequencing, studying bacterial virulence mechanisms, and predicting pathogen evolution.
Richard Condit, Ph.D.
Professor
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine
condit@mgm.ufl.edu
http://www.mgm.ufl.edu/faculty/rcondit.htm
Dr. Condit’s research involves the large double stranded DNA-containing poxvirus called Vaccinia that replicates in the cytoplasm of infected cells. The focus of his research is to understand how transcription in the virus is controlled and to characterize the lethal mutants of the Vaccinia virus.
Roxanne Connelly, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Medical Entomology Laboratory, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
crr@ifas.ufl.edu
http://mosquito.ifas.ufl.edu/Connelly.htm
Dr. Connelly’s research is based on improving predictions of arboviral outbreaks in Florida using surveillance to determine human risk, develop an understanding of West Nile Virus transmission, and provide improved tools for surveillance to mosquito control and health departments. Her other research includes providing more effective and efficient environmentally proper mosquito control.
John Dame, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine
damej@ufl.edu
http://patho.vetmed.ufl.edu/faculty_dame.htm
Dr. Dame’s research involves emerging and re-emerging pathogens of animals and man, molecular biology of the malaria parasite, drug target identification in Plasmodium falciparum (a protozoan parasite that causes malaria in humans), and developing novel diagnostics approaches for emerging diseases.
Dean W. Gabriel, Ph.D.
Professor
Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
gabriel@biotech.ufl.edu
http://plantpath.ifas.ufl.edu/People/Faculty/Gabriel/gabriel_1.htm
Dr. Gabriel’s current research is in the virulence genes of citrus canker disease, cotton blight, and common bean blight. His lab is currently working on methods to block pathogen signal molecules from being transferred to the plant nucleus. Other research projects include engineering resistance to bacterial pathogens and insect pests, and taxonomy, population structure, and detection of Xanthomonas. (A genus of proteobacteria responsible for many plant diseases)
Paul Gibbs, BVSc, Ph.D., FRCVS
Professor
Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine
pgibbs@ufl.edu
http://patho.vetmed.ufl.edu/faculty_gibbs.htm
Dr. Gibb’s career has focused on the epidemiology and control of emerging viral diseases and their relationship to human and wildlife populations. Working with his team, recent research has focused on the evaluation of a recombinant vaccine to protect horses from West Nile infections and the discovery of canine influenza.
Maria Gallo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Agronomy, Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Program
Genetics Institute and Institute of Food and Agricultural Science
Co-PI, ICORE grant
mgm@ufl.edu
http://agronomy.ifas.ufl.edu/faculty/gallo.shtml
Dr. Gallo is responsible for the molecular genetics of peanut and other agronomic crops of importance to Florida. The central research theme of the Gallo lab is the use of molecular approaches to create novel genotypes, and to gain a better understanding of mechanisms which regulate gene function. Dr. Gallo is also a Co-Director of the STEP program.
Paul Gulig, Ph.D.
Professor
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine
Gulig@ufl.edu
http://www.mgm.ufl.edu/faculty/pgulig.htm
Dr. Gulig is interested in a particular bacterial disease named Vibrio vulnificus. The infection from this organism causes significant tissue damage after ingestion of raw oysters or contamination of wounds. The focus of the research is to find out how this bacteria replicates so quickly, how it avoids host defenses, and how it causes damage in such a short period of time.
Lisa Hightower
Coordinator, STEP Program
lisyhigh@ufl.edu
http://step.ufl.edu/
http://www.ufgenetics.com/
Ms. Hightower has been working for the past three years as the Scientific Thinking & Educational Partnership (STEP) program coordinator. In that role she has developed educational materials geared toward middle school and high school science teachers to encourage their students to become interested in the sciences. Ms. Hightower is working on research focusing on the use of iPods in undergraduate science classes to improve student motivation.
Marjorie A. Hoy, Ph.D.
Eminent Scholar
Entomology and Nematology Department
mahoy@ifas.ufl.edu
http://cta.ufl.edu/pdfs/aff-bios/UF-CTA-Bio-Marjorie-Hoy.pdf
Dr. Hoy’s research areas focus on the biological control of invasive pests of citrus. Pests that have been researched include: the citrus leafminer, the Asian citrus psyllid, and the brown citrus aphid. More recently she has begun research into the control of the red palm mite, an invasive pest in Caribbean and Florida. Also, her research includes the diversity of microbial symbionts in a predatory mite and its prey, the two spotted spider mite.
Tracy Irani, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Agricultural Education and Communication, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
CoPI, ICORE grant
irani@ufl.edu
http://agbiotech.ifas.ufl.edu/
Dr. Irani is currently a part of the Education Initiative on Agricultural Biotechnology for Florida Consumers and Educators. This team is a group of scientists whose goal is to objectively educate the public on agricultural biotechnology and genetically modified foods. She is also a Co-Director of the STEP program: Scientific Thinking and Education Partnership, focusing on science education, critical thinking and problem solving, and evaluation.
Andrew Kane, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Emerging Pathogens Institute
College of Public Health and Health Professions
kane@ufl.edu
http://eh.phhp.ufl.edu/faculty/
www.epi.ufl.edu
Dr. Kane’s research interests include environmental pathology and toxicology of aquatic and marine organisms with emphasis on Chesapeake Bay fauna and captive fish species. His research delves into the indicators of contaminants and water quality deterioration effects on fish species. In addition, he has considerable experience in conducting grants-writing workshops.
Robert M. Lawrence, M.D.
Clinical Associate Professor
Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine
lawrerm@peds.ufl.edu
Dr. Lawrence is a pediatrician who specializes in pediatric infectious disease. His current research topics include pre-adolescent HIV, tuberculosis, and breast-feeding medications and infections.
Alexandra Lucas, M.D.
Professor
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
College of Medicine
Director Vascular Research, Malcom Randall VA Medical Center
alexandra.lucas@medicine.ufl.edu
http://www.medicine.ufl.edu/cardio/lucas.asp
Dr. Lucas has just moved to the University of Florida from the Robarts Research Institute and University of Western Ontario in London Ontario Canada where she has been a principal investigator studying of monocytes and T lymphocytes in vascular disease. Dr. Lucas is also co-inventor and co-founding scientist for Viron Therapeutics, Inc., a Biotechnology company that is now in clinical trial analyzing viral anti-inflammatory proteins as a new class of therapeutic agents. Dr. Lucas is a practicing interventional cardiologist. Dr Lucas runs an active basic research lab in vascular inflammatory research.
Mavis Agbandje-McKenna, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine
mckenna@ufl.edu
http://www.mbi.ufl.edu/facilities/msg/
Dr. McKenna’s research involves the study of members of the ssDNA virus families: Microviridae, Geminiviridae, Circoviridae and Parvoviridae, which infect bacteria, plants and mammals. The research is focused on the role of the viral capsid and capsid protein in the biological process of the viral life cycle. Her research is also interested in understanding how the capsid adaptations control interactions with the host cell machinery.
Robert McKenna, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Medicine
mckenna@ufl.edu
http://www.mbi.ufl.edu/facilities/msg/
Dr. McKenna’s research includes studying the structure of biological molecules using advanced techniques such as X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy incorporated with computer modeling to generate a three-dimensional model. Once the model is created, the biochemical properties of the molecule are coupled with the genetics of the molecule in order to create a structural map of the molecule. This very detailed structural map is essential to understanding how the molecule performs its operations. This technique is currently being used to study adenoviruses and carbonic anhydrase.
Grant McFadden, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine
grantmcf@ufl.edu
http://www.mgm.ufl.edu/faculty/GMcFadden.htm
Dr. Grant McFadden’s scientific expertise is on the nature of how viral pathogens interact with the host immune system. Over the past two decades his lab has studied a variety of strategies that poxviruses in particular have evolved to evade, subvert, suppress or micro-manipulate the various host defense pathways. The McFadden lab has also studied what attracts viruses to their host species and is developing viruses for the treatment of human cancers.
J. Glenn Morris, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Emerging Pathogens Institute
College of Public Health and Health Professions
jgmorris@ufl.edu
www.epi.ufl.edu
Dr. Morris is the director of the new Emerging Pathogens Institute which will develop outreach, education, and research capabilities to prevent or contain diseases that threaten tourism, health, and agriculture in the state of Florida. He recently served as interim dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland Baltimore, and he plans to bring together researchers from across UF to build the institution's research program.
Richard Moyer, Ph.D.
Senior Associate Dean for Research Development and Professor
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine
rmoyer@mgm.ufl.edu
http://www.mgm.ufl.edu/faculty/rmoyer.htm
Dr. Moyer’s research is focused on identifying and characterizing the genes that cause pathogenesis and disease in their hosts. The genes that are currently under investigation all control some aspect of the host response to the viral infection whether it be inflammation, chemotaxis, or apoptosis (programmed cell death). Mutations that are being studied in the particular genes have shown signs of decreasing the virulence of the virus and helping the outcome of the viral infection.
Brian Myers, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Agricultural Education and Communication, College of Agriculture and Life Science
bmyers@ufl.edu
http://aec.ifas.ufl.edu/faculty/brian_myers.html
Dr. Myers specializes in laboratory instructional methods. He has published on the topic in both peer-reviewed research journals and practitioner based publications. Brian has taught numerous undergraduate and graduate courses in teaching methods, program planning, and curriculum development as well as supervised student teachers. He has also delivered several professional development programs across the country focusing on integrating science, math, and reading into the agricultural education curriculum. Prior to his experience at the university level, Dr. Myers taught agriscience and Tech Prep courses. His efforts as an agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor have been recognized by numerous organizations.
Gigi Ostrow, Ph.D.
Scientific Manager
Gene Expression Core, Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research
ostrowdg@ufl.edu
http://www.biotech.ufl.edu/services.html#geneexpression
Dr. Ostrow heads the core facility that offers total support for custom microarray development beginning with DNA sequence analysis, ORF finding, and sequence annotation, through microarray fabrication using Agilent's "SurePrint" technology. The core also has facilities for complete processing of the most recently available high-density Affymetrix GeneChips.
Kenneth Rand, M.D.
Professor
Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine
rand@pathology.ufl.edu
http://www.pathology.ufl.edu/~kenrand/
Dr. Rand’s research is involved in using microarrays for viral discovery. In addition, he is interested in the mechanism of synergy between two antibacterial drugs daptomycin and rifampin against rifampin-resistant and vancomycin-resistant E. faecium.
Carlos Romero, DVM, Ph.D.
Research Professor
Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine
romeroc@vetmed.ufl.edu
http://patho.vetmed.ufl.edu/faculty_romero.htm
Over the last decade, Dr. Romero’s research has concentrated on the development of molecular assays for the early detection and characterization of viruses of livestock and poultry. He has also been involved in the development of genetically engineered recombinant DNA viruses and DNA molecules with potential vaccine use in poultry and livestock. More recently, he has concentrated on the development of diagnostic assays to identify novel viruses of marine mammals that may be associated with disease.
Troy Sadler, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education
tsadler@coe.ufl.edu
http://education.ufl.edu/Faculty/tsadler/
Dr. Sadler’s research agenda relates to understanding how people learn science and what approaches to teaching facilitate learning. He has an ongoing project related to student discourse and argumentation in classrooms. Dr. Sadler is investigating how students learn about science and technology through the social negotiation of experiments and their findings. He teaches courses related to science education and teacher preparation and conducts research in the areas of socioscientific issues, scientific argumentation, and situativity theory.
Barbara Sheppard, DVM, Ph.D.
Clinical Associate Professor
Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine
sheppardb@vetmed.ufl.edu
http://patho.vetmed.ufl.edu/faculty_sheppard.htm
Dr. Sheppard’s laboratory investigates the potential of brevetoxins, which are the toxins produced by dinoflagellate alga during red tides, to cause DNA mutagenesis, alter cell cycle, and influence cell death in normal and neoplastic human lung cells. She also studies species-dependent environmental relationships in different levels of toxin sensitivity and resistance in aquatic invertebrates compared to marine mammals.
Richard Snyder, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Molecular Genetics, College of Medicine
Director, Center of Excellence in Regenerative Health Biotechnology
Snyderr@ufl.edu
http://www.mgm.ufl.edu/faculty/rsnyder.htm
Dr. Snyder’s research involves adeno-associated viruses. The first goal of the lab is to find out how the nucleic acid is inserted into the capsid of the virus. The second goal is to understand adeno-associated virion assembly and specific capsid subunit interactions using computer modeling techniques. Dr. Snyder currently serves both as the director of the Center of Excellence of Regenerative Health Biotechnology (CERHB) and the director of Human Applications within the Powell Gene Therapy Center.
Bruce Torbett, Ph.D., MSPH
Associate Professor
Departments of Molecular and Experimental Medicine and Immunology
University of California San Diego
betorbet@scripps.edu
http://molpath.ucsd.edu/faculty/Torbett.shtml
Dr. Torbett’s research is focused on the defining a particular transcription factor that is responsible for normal and abnormal differentiation of myeloid cells. Torbett also focuses on studying why some HIV-1 variants develop resistance to protease inhibitors. Viral protease is responsible for processing the viral proteins that lead to viral infection.
