Gerardo R. Vasta, PhD

National University La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, School of Exact Sciences, Chemist, 1972

National University La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, School of Exact Sciences, Licenciate in Biochemistry, 1973

National University La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, School of Natural Sciences, Licenciate in Zoology, 1976

National University La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, School of Exact Sciences, Doctor (PhD) in Biochemistry, 1978

National University La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, School of Natural Sciences, Doctor (PhD) in Zoology, 1980

Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, NY, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Clinical Immunology Section, 1979-1980.

Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Post-Doctoral Fellow, 1981-1982.

Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Research Associate, 1982-1984.

Dr. Vasta is a leading research scientist in the area of glycosciences, who is recognized for his significant contributions to the field of protein-carbohydrate interactions in innate immunity, development, and cancer. His multidisciplinary background training and research experience have facilitated a fluid communication with expert collaborators in various fields in the biomedical sciences that led to highly integrated, interdisciplinary research projects. These have been very productive both from the scientific output as well as the education/training standpoints.

Dr. Vasta’s research projects, supported by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among other agencies, have revealed key information on the structural and functional relationships of carbohydrate binding proteins in fundamental processes in various model systems including the zebrafish, C. elegans, eastern oyster, and mice.  Early studies in Dr. Vasta’s lab were focused on C-type lectins in innate immune recognition and effector functions against microbial pathogens in non-mammalian models, mostly invertebrate and ectothermic vertebrate species. These initial studies opened new avenues of research in the basic structural and biophysical aspects of protein-carbohydrate interactions. These studies also served for the rational development of natural and synthetic inhibitors for lectin binding for basic and translational applications. During the past two and a half decades, on the roles of galectins in development, immune regulation and pathogen recognition have been a major focus of Dr. Vasta’s lab. Studies using the zebrafish model were aimed at elucidating the role(s) of selected lectins in skeletal muscle development, eye lens development, and retinal regeneration. Functional studies of galectins in cancer in a murine model enabled the development of highly reliable diagnostic methods for early stages of prostate adenocarcinoma, as well as effective inhibitors for cancer metastasis. Studies on the role(s) of galectins in infectious disease were investigated using invertebrate and vertebrate model systems, and showed that galectins can either promote or inhibit pathogen adhesion to the host cell surface. Further, Dr. Vasta’s lab recently showed that galectins can recognize pathogenic viruses such as influenza A, and facilitate viral infection and promote a subsequent pneumococcal pneumonia. Ongoing studies should lead to a better understanding of the mechanistic aspects of the roles of galectins in the regulation of the innate immune response to lung infections.

Throughout his career Dr. Vasta has been very active in education and training, mentoring numerous PhD and MSc students. Furthermore, his lab regularly hosts high school and undergraduate summer interns who fully participate in the ongoing research projects.

Glycobiology, Glycoimmunology, Lectin, Galectin, F-Lectin, Glycan Receptor, Molecular Recognition, Protein Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Transcriptomics, Genomics, Recombinant Expression, Innate Immunity, Inflammatory Signaling Pathways, Epithelial Cells, Hemocyte, Macrophage, Leukocyte, Protozoan Parasite, Virus, PRR, PAMP, MAMP, Intracellular Signaling, Galectin Inhibitor

Harvell, C.D., Kim, K., Burkholder, J.M., Colwell, R.R., Epstein, P.R., Grimes, D.J., Hofmann, E.E., Lipp, E.K., Osterhaus, A.D.M.E., Overstreet, R.M., Porter, J.W., Smith, G.W., and Vasta, G.R. (1999) Emerging marine diseases-climate links and anthropogenic factors. Science, 285: 1505-1510

Vasta, G.R. (2009) Roles of galectins in infection. Nature Reviews Microbiol. 7:424-438.

Feng C, Ghosh A, Amin MN, Giomarelli B, Shridhar S, Banerjee A, Fernández-Robledo JA, Bianchet MA, Wang LX, Wilson IB, Vasta GR. (2013) The galectin CvGal1 from the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) binds to blood group A oligosaccharides on the hemocyte surface. J Biol Chem. 288(34): 24394-409

Feng C, Nita-Lazar M, González-Montalbán N, Wang J, Mancini J, Ravindran C, Ahmed H, Vasta GR. Manipulating galectin expression in zebrafish (Danio rerio). (2015) Methods Mol Biol. 1207:327-41

Nita-Lazar M, Banerjee A, Feng , and Vasta GR. (2015) Galectins regulate the inflammatory response in airway epithelial cells exposed to microbial neuraminidase by modulating the expression of SOCS1 and RIG1. Mol Immunol. 68:194-202

Vasta GR (2016) Lectins as innate immune recognition factors: Structural, functional, and evolutionary aspects. In “The Evolution of the Immune System” edited by D. Malagoli (Ed) p 205-224. Elsevier, London, UK

Nita-Lazar M, Mancini J, Feng C, González-Montalbán N, Ravindran C, Jackson S, Heras-Sánchez AL, Giomarelli B, Ahmed H, Haslam SM, Wu G, Dell A, Ammayappan A, Vakharia VN, Vasta GR (2016) The zebrafish galectins Drgal1-L2 and Drgal3-L1 bind in vitro to the infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) glycoprotein and reduce viral adhesion to fish epithelial cells. Dev Comp Immunol. 55:241-52