BIOMEDICAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY SYMPOSIUM

Florida International University, Modesto Maidique Campus

MARC Pavilion

PROGRAM

THURSDAY, MARCH 1^st

8:00 – 9:00 am     On-site Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 – 9:15 am     Welcome Remarks

                             Dr. Kenneth G. Furton, Dean, College of Arts & Sciences

                             Dr. Charles H. Bigger, Professor, Biological Sciences &

FIU FSRTA Executive Director & MBRS Program Director

9:15 – 10:15 am   Plenary Session I

Systemic iron regulation in vertebrates, an unusual hormone-receptor story

Tomas Ganz

Department of Medicine, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

10:20 – 10:40 am

Endothelin 3 promotes tumor progression by increasing angiogenesis in a mouse model of melanoma

Nikeisha Chin, Juan Carlos Gallegos, Rosy Cruz, Ruslan Garcia, Andrea Gonzalez, David Fernandez, and Lidia Kos

Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL

10:40 – 11:05 am

Regulation of the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) by zinc

Juan P. Liuzzi and Ashley Tracey

Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL

11:05 – 11:20 amRefreshment Break       

11:20 – 11:35 am

An evaluation of the leaf optical properties for Thalassia testudinum and implications for optical modeling

Kymberlee Osborne¹and Kellie Dixon²

¹Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL;

 ²Chemical Ecology, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL

11:35 – 12:00 pm

Identification of bioactive collagen type II alpha 1 protein in shark cartilage dietary supplement

Liza Merly^1,2 and Sylvia L. Smith¹

¹Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL; 

²Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL

12:00 – 1:15 pm   LUNCH

1:15 – 2:15 pm     Plenary Session II

Immunogenomics of the snail Biomphalaria glabrata
Coen M. Adema
Center for Evolutionary and Theoretical Immunology, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

2:20 – 2:40 pm

HIV infection and drugs of abuse: Role of acute phase proteins

Aarthi Kalaichezhian, Thangavel Samikkannu, Adriana Y. Arias, and Madhavan N. Nair

Department of Medicine & Institute of NeuroImmune Pharmacology (NIP), Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL

2:40 – 3:00 pm

Evaluation of a novel DNA extraction technique for optimal recovery of DNA from epithelial cells

Julian Mendel^{1, 2} and DeEtta Mills^{1,2, 3}

¹International Forensic Research Institute, ²Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, ³Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL

3:00 – 3:15 pm     Break

3:15 – 3:35 pm

The role of GSK3 in eukaryotic cell movement

Tong Sun, Bohye Kim, and Lou W. Kim

Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL

3:35 – 3:55 pm

Motor response investigation in individuals with cerebral palsy using near infrared spectroscopy

Ujwal Chaudhary¹, Michael Hall¹, Jean Gonzalez¹, Leonard Elbaum², Martha Bloyer², and Anuradha Godavarty¹

¹Optical Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing, Florida International University, Miami, FL;

²Department of Physical Therapy, College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL

3:55 – 4:15 pm

Are IgM anti-U1Ap titers a good system to classify SLE and MCTD patients?

Annia Mesa^1,2, Jason A. Somarelli³, Wengson Wu⁴, Laisel Martinez⁵, Eric L. Greidinger⁵, and Rene J. Herrera²

¹Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL;

²Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL;

³Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC;

⁴Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL;

⁵Miami VA Medical Center and University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL

4:15 – 4:30 pm     Break

4:30 – 6:00 pm     Poster Presentations     

Poster 1. 

ABO Blood group gene association with breast cancer risk

Allen Caobi¹, Sandeep Kumar Singh², and Mehmet Tevfik Dorak²

¹Department of Biology, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL;

²Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL

Poster 2.

A critical assessment of NOTCH4 polymorphisms 

Sandeep Kumar Singh¹, Anshul Saxena², Sankalp Das², and Mehmet Tevfik Dorak¹

¹Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL;

²Department of Biostatistics, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL

Poster 3.

UV irradiated transgenic mice that over-express Endothelin 3 in the skin show melanoma metastasis to the lymph nodes

Deannys Batista, Ana Paula Benaduce, and Lidia Kos

Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University,

Miami, FL

Poster 4.

Endothelin 3 over-expression partially compensates for the lack of melanocortin receptor-1 signaling in agouti yellow mice

Javier Pino and Lidia Kos

Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University,

Miami, FL

Poster 5.

Generation of null mutants of aquaporin homologs in Leishmania

Leslie Leal, Srotoswati Mandal, Adrian Piloto, Goutam Mandal, and Rita Mukhopadhyay

Department of Molecular Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL

Poster 6.

Recombinant ferritin of Fasciola hepatica (FhFtn-1) a potential serodiagnostic antigen for human fascioliasis

Caleb Ruiz-Jiménez, Kimberly Cabán-Hernández, and Ana M. Espino

University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Poster 7.

Immunopathogenic mechanisms by HIV-1 clade B and C: role of redox expression and thiol modification

Elena M. Santiago, T.  Samikkannu, S.P. Kanthikeel, A.Y. Arias, and Madhavan P. Nair

Department of Medicine & Institute of NeuroImmune Pharmacology (NIP),Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL

Poster 8.

Candidate TLR agonist restores DC-NK cross-talk and improves immunization outcomes in nicotine-exposed hosts 

Erika Nourishirazi, Elisabeth Guinet, Kevin Lang, and Mahyar Nouri-Shirazi

Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Boca Raton, FL

6:30 pm                Shuttle Departs for Mutiny Hotel (Pick-up at Frost Art Museum)

FRIDAY, MARCH 2^nd

8:00 – 9:00 am     On-site registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 – 9:15 am     Welcoming Remarks by Dr. Charles H. Bigger, Professor, Biological Sciences & FIU FSRTA Executive Director & MBRS Program Director

9:15 – 10:15 am   Plenary Session III

Immunity at the emergence of multicellular life

Thomas C.G. Bosch

Zoological Institute, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany

10:20 – 10:45 am

Ciona VCBPs are secreted into the gut lumen, bind bacteria, and are recognized by circulating hemocytes

Larry J. Dishaw

University of South Florida, Department of Pediatrics, All Children's Hospital & Department of Molecular Genetics, St. Petersburg, FL

10:45 – 11:00 amBreak

11:00 – 11:20 am

Ultrastructure of Swiftia exserta, a gorgonian octocoral from the western Atlantic

Lorenzo P. Menzel¹, Barry Stein², and Charles H. Bigger¹

¹Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International  University, Miami, FL;

²Indiana Molecular Biology Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

11:20 – 11:40 am

The NLRP2 inflammasome: A novel inflammatory platform expressed

in human glia

Julia Minkiewicz¹, Juan Pablo de Rivero Vaccari¹, and Robert W. Keane^1,2

¹Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL;

²The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL

11:40 – 11:50 am

The conditions that promote face recognition in infants

Reef Tyuse, Irina Castellanos, Sheila Krogh-Jespersen, and Lorraine E. Bahrick

Department of Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL

11:50 - 1:25 pm    LUNCH

1:25 – 2:25 pm

B cell and antibody repertoire development in rabbit bone marrow and gut-associated lymphoid tissues: Role of intestinal microbiota

Katherine Knight

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Infectious Disease and Immunology Institute, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL

2:30 – 2:50 pm    

The regulatory repertoire of Pseudomonas aeruginosa AmpC ß-lactamase regulator AmpR includes virulence genes

Deepak Balasubramanian¹, Lisa Schneper², Massimo Merighi^3,†, Roger Smith^3,§, Giri Narasimhan⁴, Stephen Lory³, and Kalai Mathee^2,*

Department of ¹Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, ²Molecular Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, ⁴School of Computing and Information Science, Florida International University, Miami, FL;

³Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA;

^†Current address: Glycosyn Inc., Medford, MA;

^§Current address: Semprus Biosciences, Cambridge, MA

2:50 – 3:15 pm

Genome-wide association signals from the HLA region and evolutionary lineages