Academic Title:
Professor
Primary Appointment:
Microbiology and Immunology
Administrative Title:
Director of Faculty Mentoring
Email:
Location:
685 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone (Primary):
410-706-7343
Fax:
410-706-6970
Education and Training
1998 B.Sc., Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Vicosa, Brazil
2000 M.Sc., Agricultural Chemistry, Universidade Federal de Vicosa, Brazil
2004 Ph.D., Entomology, Purdue University, Mentor: Barry R. Pittendrigh
2004 - 2007 Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Yale University School of Medicine, Mentor: Erol Fikrig, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
2007 - 2009 Associate Research Scientist, Yale University School of Medicine, Mentor: Erol Fikrig, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Biosketch
I completed my college and Master of Science degrees in Biology and Chemistry in Brazil. Then, I immigrated to the United States and received a doctoral degree in Entomology at Purdue University where I was mentored by Dr. Barry Pittendrigh. My post-doctoral training was focused on microbial pathogenesis and immunology at Yale University under the supervision of Dr. Erol Fikrig (Chief of Infectious Diseases/HHMI Investigator). In 2009, I joined the University of California at Riverside as an independent investigator. In 2013, I relocated to the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Medicine.
Research/Clinical Keywords
Tick-borne diseases; Arthropod Immunology; Skin Immunology; Immunometabolism; Neuroimmunology
Highlighted Publications
Bacterial reprogramming of tick metabolism impacts vector fitness and susceptibility to infection. Samaddar, S., Rolandelli, A., O’Neal, A.J., Laukaitis-Yousey, H.J., Marnin, L., Singh, N., Wang, X., Butler, L.R., Rangghran, P., Kitsou, C., Cabrera Paz, F.E. Valencia, L., Ferraz, C.R., Munderloh, U.G., Khoo, B., Cull, B., Rosche, K.L., Shaw, D.K., Oliver, J., Narasimhan, S., Fikrig, E., Pal, U., Fiskum, G.M., Polster, B.M., Pedra J.H.F. Nature Microbiology. 2024 9:2278-2291.
An atlas of human vector-borne microbe interactions reveals pathogenicity mechanisms. Hart, T.M., Sonnert, N.D., Tang, X., Chaurasia, R., Allen, P.E., Hunt, J.R., Read, C.B., Johnson, E.E., Arora, G., Dai, Y., Cui, Y., Chuang, Y-M., Yu, Q., Rahman, M.S., Mendes, M.T., Rolandelli, A., Singh, P., Tripathi, A.K., Ben Mamoun, C., Caimano, M.J., Radolf, J.D., Lin, Y-P., , Roy, C.R., Lin, Y. Fingerle, V., Margos, G., Pal, U., Johnson, R.M., Pedra, J.H.F., Azad, A.F., Salje, J., Dimopoulos, G., Vinetz, J.M., Carlyon, J.A., Palm, N.W., Fikrig, E., Ring, A.M. Cell 2024 187(15):4113-4127.
Tick hemocytes have pleiotropic roles in microbial infection and arthropod fitness. Rolandelli, A., Laukaitis-Yousey, H.J., Bogale, H.N., Singh, N., Samaddar, S., O’Neal, A.J., Ferraz, C.R, Butnaru M., Mameli, E., Xia, B. Mendes, M.T., Butler, L.R., Marnin, L., Cabrera Paz, F.E., Valencia, L.M., Rana, V.S., Skerry, C., Pal, U., Mohr, S.E., Perrimon, N., Serre, D., Pedra, J.H.F. Nature Communications 2024 15(1): 2117.
Genetic manipulation of an Ixodes scapularis cell line. Singh, N., Rolandelli, A., O’Neal, A.J., Butler, L.R., Samaddar, S., Laukaitis-Yousey, H., Butnaru, M., Mohr, S.E., Perrimon, N., Pedra, J.H.F. mBio 2024 e0247923.
A ticking time bomb hidden in plain sight. Narasimhan, S., Fish, D., Pedra, J.H.F., Pal, U., Fikrig, E. Science Translational Medicine 2023 15:eadi7829.
Cholesterol contributes to risk, severity, and machine learning-driven diagnosis of human Lyme disease. Forrest, I.S., O’Neal A.J., Pedra, J.H.F., Do R. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2023 77:839-847.
Croquemort elicits activation of the immune deficiency pathway in ticks. O’Neal AJ, Singh N, Rolandelli A, Laukaitis HJ, Wang X, Shaw DK, Young BD, Narasimhan S, Dutta S, Snyder GA, Samaddar S, Marnin L, Butler LR, Mendes MT, Paz FEC, Valencia LM, Sundberg EJ, Fikrig E, Pal U, Weber DJ, Pedra JHF. PNAS 2023 120:e2208673120.
Dome1-JAK-STAT signaling shared between parasite and host integrates vector immunity and development. Rana VS, Kitsou C, Dutta S., Ronzetti MH, Zhang M, Bernard Q, Smith AA, Tomas-Cortazar J, Yang X, Wu M-J, Kepple O, Li W, Dwyer JE, Matias J., Baljinnyam B, Oliver JD, Rajeevan N, Pedra JHF, Narasimhan S, Wang Y, Munderloh U, Fikrig E, Simeonov A, Anguita J, Pal U. Science 2023 379:eabl3837
Tick extracellular vesicles enable arthropod feeding and promote distinct outcomes of bacterial infection. Oliva Chávez AS, Wang X, Marnin L, Archer N, , Hammond HL, McClure Carroll EE, Shaw DK, Tully BG, Buskirk AD, Ford SL, Butler LR, Shahi P, Morozova K, Clement CC, Lawres L, O’Neal AJ, Ben Mamoun C, Mason KL, Hobbs BE, Scoles GA, Barry EM, Sonenshine DE, Pal U, Valenzuela JG, Sztein MB, Pasetti MF, Levin ML, Kotsyfakis M, Jay SM, Huntley JF, Miller L, Santambrogio L, Pedra JHF. Nature Communications 2021 12 (1): 3696.
Interactions between Borrelia burgdorferi and ticks. Kurokawa C, Lynn GE, Pedra JHF, Pal U, Narasimhan S, Fikrig. Nature Reviews Microbiology 2020 18(10):587-600.
Ticks resist skin commensals with immune factor of bacterial origin. Cell 2020 183: 1562–1571. Hayes BM, Radkov AD, Yarza F, Flores S, Kim J, Zhao Z, Lexa KW, Marnin L, Biboy J, Bowcut V, Vollmer W, Pedra JHF, Chou S. Cell 2020 183: 1562–1571.
p47 licenses activation of the immune deficiency pathway in the tick Ixodes scapularis. McClure Carroll EE, Wang X, Shaw DK, O'Neal AJ, Oliva Chávez AS, Brown LJ, Boradia VM, Hammond HL, Pedra JHF. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Jan 2;116(1):205-210.
Engineering of obligate intracellular bacteria, challenges and paradigms. McClure EE, Chávez ASO, Shaw DK, Carlyon JA, Ganta RR, Noh SM, Wood DO, Bavoil PM, Brayton KA, Martinez JJ, McBride JW, Valdivia RH, Munderloh UG, Pedra JHF. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2017.
Infection-derived lipids elicit an immune deficiency circuit in arthropods. Shaw DK, Wang X, Brown LJ, Chávez AS, Reif KE, Smith AA, Scott AJ, McClure EE, Boradia VM, Hammond HL, Sundberg EJ, Snyder GA, Liu L, DePonte K, Villar M, Ueti MW, de la Fuente J, Ernst RK, Pal U, Fikrig E, Pedra JHF. Nature Communications 2017 8:14401.
Research Interests
The Tick Immune System
Over the past decade, the increased knowledge observed for arthropod-microbe interactions can be directly correlated to multiple technological advancements, including the sequencing of vector genomes and the ability to manipulate their gene expression. Comparative immune analysis and genome editing techniques have provided important insights towards insect immunity. However, extrapolating this approach to non-insect arthropods, such as Ixodes scapularis, sometimes constitutes a problem because of philosophical biases that define a scientific paradigm. We discovered a non-canonical immune deficiency (IMD) pathway in I. scapularis that mounts a response against the Gram-negative spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and the rickettsial agent Anaplasma phagocytophilum. We are currently developing new technologies to study the immune system of the tick I. scapularis. We are also investigating the plasticity of the tick immune system during microbial and metabolic changes. We focus on resistance and tolerance to infection. These conceptual and technical advances should help to define which genes and metabolites are important for tick-microbe interactions, delineate correlates that ensure stability between interspecies relationships and uncover mechanisms that are critical for microbial perturbations in the arthropod vector.
Tick-Host Interactions
Tick saliva has intrigued investigators with their anti-hemostatic, anesthetic, and anti-inflammatory properties for over a century. From the pioneering work of Luigi Sabbatani in 1899 depicting the “ferment” anticoagulant of Ixodes ricinus, to the influential scientific paper of Johnston and Bancroft in 1918 demonstrating tick resistance in cattle, to the classical article by William Trager in 1939 displaying tick acquired immunity in guinea pigs, the field of vector biology has changed as new technologies developed. In the past, we discovered underlying mechanisms by which tick salivary proteins inhibit Toll-like receptor (TLR) and Nod-like receptor (NLR) activation in immune cells; thus, facilitating microbial transmission to the mammalian host. Recently, we became interested in deciphering how tick salivary proteins are transported during blood-feeding to the mammalian host and their interactions with skin immune cells and peripheral sensory neurons called nociceptors. As ticks and other arthropods transmit many human pathogens, solving these intriguing scientific questions will provide critical insights to the entomology, microbiology and immunology communities.
Awards and Affiliations
2006-2007 Brown-Coxe Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Yale University
2007-2011 Mentored Public Health Research Scientist Development Award (K01), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2022 Dr. Mark E. Shirtliff PhD Student Mentor Award, Graduate Program in Life Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore
2024 Purdue University College of Agriculture Distinguished Alumnus Award. Awarded for the outstanding contributions in the field of medical entomology.
Affiliations
2006-present General Member, American Society for Rickettsiology
2011-present General Member, American Society for Microbiology
2011-present General Member, American Association of Immunologists
In the News
Links of Interest
http://www.pedralab.com