- November 8, 20123: Margarita and Ioannis give talks at the Entomology 2023 Conference (Insect Immune Systems Session) at the National Harbor, MD.
- October 23, 2023: Rachel Zeng is joining our lab as Research Associate, welcome Rachel! - October 12, 2023: Our methods paper with the title 'A Simple Protocol for Isolating Hemolymph from Single Drosophila melanogaster Adult Flies' was published in Methods and Protocols! - October 6, 2023: Margarita wins an award for the best undergraduate student presentation at the Harlan posters event (Department of Biological Sciences, GWU). Congratulations Margarita! - September 4, 2023: Hajar Errahmani joins our lab as undergraduate researcher. Welcome Hajar! - August 29, 2023: Our paper "Drosophila melanogaster larvae are tolerant to oral infection with the bacterial pathogen Photorhabdus luminescens" was published in MicroPublication Biology! - August 15, 2023: Our new PhD student Sreeradha Mallick joins our lab. Welcome Sree! - August 4, 2023: Our collaborative research article "Entomopathogenic fungal-derived metabolites alter innate immunity and gut microbiota in the migratory locust" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Pest Science. - July 14, 2023: Our collaborative research article "Plant toxins decrease herbivore performance and modulate cellular and humoral immunity" was accepted for publication in PLoS One. - June 30, 2023: Our editorial article "Insect Behavioral Adaptations and Immune Responses to Stress" was accepted for publication in Frontiers in Physiology. - May 20, 2023: Tien receives 3 awards from the Biological Sciences Department for his research achievements; Congratulations!! - May 18, 2023: Our research paper "Drosophila melanogaster Imd signaling interacts with insulin signaling and alters feeding rate upon parasitic nematode infection" was published in Heliyon. - May 13, 2023: Our 'parasite of the month' paper "Heterorhabditis bacteriophora" was published in Trends in Parasitology. - May 2, 2023: Our review article "The role of Drosophila microbiota in gut homeostasis and immunity" was published in Gut Microbes. - March 30, 2023: Ghada successfully presents and defends her PhD Thesis - Congratulations Dr. Ghada! - March 25, 2023: Together with the Grayfer and Smith labs, we hosted the '2023 Local DC Comparative Immunology Meeting', which once agin was a great success; well done everyone! - March 16, 2023: Our research paper "Temperature and sex shape Zika virus pathogenicity in the adult Bratcheesehead brain: A Drosophila model for virus-associated neurological diseases" was published in iScience. - February 14, 2023: Dhaivat successfully presents and defends his MS Thesis - Well done and congratulations! - January 17, 2023: Margarita Kyza Karavioti is joining our lab as an undergraduate researcher, welcome Margarita! - January 1, 2023: Our research paper "Heterorhabditis bacteriophora nematodes are sensitive to the bacterial pathogen Photorhabdus asymbiotica" was published in Parasitology. - October 10, 2022: Our review article "Functional role of thirster-containing proteins in the Drosophila anti-pathogen immune response" was published in Developmental & Comparative Immunology. - September 5, 2022: Our research paper "An odorant binding protein is involved in counteracting detection-avoidance and Toll-pathway innate immunity" was published in the Journal of Advanced Research. - August 29, 2022: We have three new lab members: Ashley Bastin (PhD student), Raymond Yau (Master student), and Nikki Karri (undergraduate Honors Thesis research student); warm welcome to all of you! - August 20, 2022: Our research paper "Excreted secreted products from the parasitic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae manipulate the Drosophila melanogaster immune response" was published in Scientific Reports. - June 30, 2022: Our research paper "Zika virus induces sex-dependent metabolic changes in Drosophila melanogaster to promote viral replication" was published in Frontiers in Immunology. - June 6, 2022: Our review article "Pathogen infection routes and host innate immunity: Lessons from insects" was published in Immunology Letters. - April 26, 2022: Our research article "Zika virus infection triggers the melanization response in Drosophila" was published in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Basis of Disease. - April 2022: Tien was awarded the GW Luther Rice Undergraduate Research Fellowship, the CCAS STEM Summer Laboratory Internship, and the Department of Biological Sciences Harlan Wilbur V. Harlan Research Fellowship! Also, Lily was also awarded the Department of Biological Sciences Harlan Wilbur V. Harlan Research Fellowship! Congratulations to both Tien and Lily for their success! - March 31, 2022: Our editorial article "Evolution of Innate Immunity in Eukarea: Advances and Implications" was accepted for publication in Frontiers in Immunology. - March 15, 2022: Our methods article "Cultuting and Genetically Manipulating Entomopathogenic Nematodes" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Visualized Experiments! - January 4, 2022: Our perspectives article "Virus infection of the brain: Lessons from Drosophila for illuminating virus disease and nervous system function" was published online in Neuroscience. - December 22, 2022: Our research article "Activin and BMP Signaling Activity Affects Different Aspects of Host Anti-Nematode Immunity in Drosophila melanogaster" was published in Frontiers in Immunology. - November 29, 2021: Yaprak defended her PhD Thesis ('Elucidating the Functional Contribution of the TGF-beta Signaling to Drosophila melanogaster Anti-nematode Immune Response') successfully! - October 19, 2021: Our methods article "Drosophila melanogaster Larva Injection Protocol" was published in the Journal of Visualized Experiments. - September 20, 2021: Our review article "Diversity of insect antimicrobial peptides and proteins - A functional perspective: A review" was published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. - July 7, 2021: Our collaborative review "Hemocyte-mediated immunity in insects: Cells, processes and associated components in the fight against pathogens and parasites" was published in Immunology. - June 19, 2021: Our review "Nematode infection and anti nematode immunity in Drosophila" was published in Trends in Parasitology. - May 13, 2021: The Editorial article "Evolutionary Genetics of Insect Innate Immunity" was published in Genes. - April 2, 2021: Our collaborative review "Regulators and Signalling in insect antimicrobial innate immunity: Functional molecules and cellular pathways" was accepted for publication in Cellular Signalling. - April 1, 2021: Yaprak has been awarded a CCAS Dean's Dissertation Completion Fellowship. Many congratulations! - March 23, 2021: Tania's research paper "Differential in vitro pathogenicity of Photorhabdus bacterial species against two distinct insect cell lines was accepted for publication in Research in Microbiology. - January 28, 2021: Yaprak wins a fellowship from the Cosmos Club Foundation in Washington DC. Congratulations! - January 7, 2021: Eric's review article "Secreted virulence factors from Heterorhabditis bacteriophora highlight its utility as a model parasite among Clade V nematodes" was published in the International Journal for Parasitology. Congratulations Eric! - December 2020: If you are interested in the evolution of innate immunity in Eukarya, consider submitting your work to this Research Topic: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/18602/evolution-of-innate-immunity-in-eukarya-advances-and-implications - December 2020: If you are interested in the evolutionary genetics of insect innate immunity, consider submitting your work to this special issue: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/genes/special_issues/insect_innate_immunity - November 30, 2020: Sneh's review article "Flavivirus Infection and Regulation of Host Immune and Tissue Homeostasis in Insects" was published in Frontiers in Immunology. Bravo Sneh! - November 17, 2020: Christa's review article "Molecular Regulators of Entomopathogenic Nematode-Bacterial Symbiosis" was published as chapter in the book 'Symbiosis: Cellular, Molecular, Medical and Evolutionary Aspects'. Well done Christa! - September 11, 2020: Sneh's research article "Tumor induction in Drosophila imaginal epithelia triggers modulation of fat body lipid droplets" was accepted for publication in Biochimie. Congratulations Sneh! - July 31, 2020: Eric's research article "A putative lysozyme and serine carboxypeptidase from Heterorhabditis bacteriophora show differential virulence capacities in Drosophila melanogaster" was accepted for publication in Developmental and Comparative Immunology. Congratulations Eric! - July 25, 2020: Yaprak's mini-review article "Immune interactions between Drosophila and the pathogen Xenorhabdus" was accepted for publication in Microbiological Research. Congratulations Yaprak! - July 12, 2020: Eric's research article "A putative UDP-glycosyltransferase from Heterorhabditis bacteriophora suppresses antimicrobial peptide gene expression and factors related to ecdysone signaling" was accepted for publication in Scientific Reports. Congratulations Eric! - June 29, 2020: Christa's mini-review article "Nematode endosymbiont competition: Fortune favors the fittest" was accepted for publication in Molecular & Biochemical Parasitology. Congratulations Christa! - June 27, 2020: Yaprak's research article "The Drosophila melanogaster metabolic response against parasitic nematode infection is mediated by TGF-beta signaling" was accepted for publication in Microorganisms. Congratulations Yaprak! - June 24, 2020: Ghada's mini review article "JNK signaling in Drosophila immunity and homeostasis" was accepted for publication in Immunology Letters. Congratulations Ghada! - April 30, 2020: Yaprak has won the Mortensen award from the Department of Biological Sciences! The award will provide funds to support Yaprak's research; Congratulations! - March 3, 2020: Our research article "Zika virus protein NS4A restricts eye growth in Drosophila through regulation of JAK/STAT signaling" was accepted for publication in Disease Models & Mechanisms. Congratulations to Sneh and all the coauthors! - January 20, 2020: Our review article "Thioester-containing Proteins in the Drosophila melanogaster Immune Response against the Pathogen Photorhabdus" was accepted for publication in Insects. - December 1, 2019: Our review article "Drosophila immunity against natural and nonnatural viral pathogens" was accepted for publication in Virology. - September 20, 2019: Our article "Heterorhabditis bacteriophota excreted-secreted products enable infection by Photorhabdus luminescens through suppression of the Imd pathway" was accepted for publication in Frontiers in Immunology. - August 9, 2019: Our article "The peptidoglycan recognition protein PGRP-LE regulates the Drosophila immune response against the pathogen Photorhabdus" was published in Microbial Pathogenesis. - June 27, 2019: Our article "Intestinal lipid droplets as novel mediators of host-pathogen interaction in Drosophila " was accepted for publication in Biology Open. - June 19, 2019: Our article "TGF-beta signaling interferes with the Drosophila innate immune and metabolic response to parasitic nematode infection" was published in Frontiers in Physiology. - June 17, 2019: Trishya Pagadala from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology joins our lab - Welcome Trishya! - May 9. 2019: Eric is awarded a summer 2019 pre-dissertation fellowship. - April 9, 2019: Yaprak is awarded first place for her poster presented at the GW Research Day event. - April 2019: Dahivat is awarded an undergraduate summer research Harlan fellowship. - March 6, 2019: Ioannis presents a seminar in the Department of Nematology at the University of California, Riverside. - January 15, 2019: Ioannis presents a seminar in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Uniformed Services University. - January 2019: Ms. Kirah Shaw and Mr. Dhaivat Raval join our lab as undergraduate researchers; welcome to both! - December 5, 2018: Ioannis presents a seminar in the Department of Entomology and Genetics Institute at the University of Florida. - September 2018: Our article "Dicer-2 Regulates Resistance and Maintains Homeostasis against Zika Virus Infection in Drosophila" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Immunology. - September 2018: Our article "Pre-exposure to non-pathogenic bacteria does not protect Drosophila against the entomopathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus" was accepted for publication in PLoS One. - August 2018: Our article "Prolonged Storage Increases Virulence of Steinernema Entomopathogenic Nematodes Toward Drosophila Larvae" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Parasitology. - August 2018: Our article "The Imaginal Discs growth factors 2 and 3 participate in the Drosophila response to nematode infection" was accepted for publication in Parasite Immunology. - July 2018: Our article "Trancriptional up-regulation of the TGF-beta intracellular signaling transducer Mad of Drosophila larvae in response to parasitic nematode infection" was published in Innate Immunity. - June 2018: Our article "Wounding-induced upregulation of the Bone Morphogenic Protein signaling pathway in Drosophila promotes survival against parasitic nematode infection" was published in Gene. - April 2018: Our article "Allatostatin C modulates nociception and immunity in Drosophila" was accepted for publication in Scientific Reports. - March 2018: Shruti presents and defends her PhD thesis successfully. Congratulations, Dr. Yadav! - February 2018: Addison Fry joins our lab as undergraduate researcher - Welcome Addison! Our article "Thioester-Containing Proteins 2 and 4 Affect the Metabolic Activity and Inflammation Response in Drosophila" was accepted for publication in Infection and Immunity. Our article "Endosymbiont-based immunity in Drosophila melanogaster against parasitic nematode infection" was accepted for publication in PLoS One. Our article "Differential Regulation of Immune Signaling and Survival Response in Drosophila melanogaster Larvae upon Steinernema carpocapsae Nematode Infection" is published in the journal Insects. - January 2018: Happy New Year 2018! Busy and on track with the new semester. Time does FLY! We are preparing for the upcoming annual DC Local Immunological Meeting as well. A dedicated website is in order to push information in real-time. Stay tuned on what we are offering this year and participate! Calls for all DC area immunologists! - November 2017: Our review article with the title 'Role of Endosymbionts in Insect-Parasitic Nematode Interactions' was published in Trends in Parasitology. Taylor Brewer joins our lab as undergraduate researcher - Welcome Taylor! - June 2017: Shreya Wadehra from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology joins our lab - Welcome Shreya! Whidbey Bissell joins our lab as undergraduate researcher - Welcome Whidbey! Upasana's newest paper entitled "Evolution and Function of Thioester-Containing Proteins and the Complement System in the Innate Immune Response" is published on Frontiers in Immunology. Link on our Twitter page! We are sending Upasana our best wishes for all her future adventures! Stay in touch, Ups! Not even a farewell prevents Upasana from releasing a paper! "The Drosophila thioester containing protein-4 participates in the induction of the cellular immune response to the pathogen Photorhabdus" was published in Developmental and Comparative Immunology. Click on the link on our Twitter page. - May 2017: Upasana Shokal is attending her graduation ceremony at GWU. We are so proud of her! Pssst, her picture is on our Twitter! Upasana and Hannah publish a new research paper entitled "The distinct function of Tep2 and Tep6 in the immune defense of Drosophila melanogaster against the pathogen Photorhabdus" in Virulence. Congratulations, Upasana and Hannah! Dustin Cooper publishes a new mini-review, entitled "Memory and Specificity in the insect immune System: Current Perspectives and Future Challenges" in Frontiers in Immunology. Congratulations, Dustin! - March 2017: Big day for our lab! Upasana defends her PhD thesis successfully. Congratulations, Dr. Shokal! - January 2017: Ms. Yaprak Ozakman joins the lab as a PhD student - Welcome Yaprak! - December 2016: Our lab wins the GW Goes Green Challenge - Well done everyone! - November 2016: Christa Heryanto joins the lab as research assistant - Welcome Christa! - October 2016: Kyle Devine joins the lab as research assistant - Welcome Kyle! - August 2016: Upasana's paper "Thioester-containing protein-4 regulates the Drosophila immune signaling and function against the pathogen Photorhabdus" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Innate Immunity. - August 2016: Sudhamsh Tippireddy joins our lab as undergraduate researcher - Welcome Sudhamsh! - August 2016: Dr. Sneh Harsh is joining our lab as postdoctoral researcher - Welcome Sneh! - May 2016: Victoria Chevee wins the Atkin's award for the best Honors Thesis in the Department of Biological Sciences; Congratulations!! - April 2016: Our paper entitled "The insulin receptor substrate Chico regulates antibacterial immune function in Drosophila" was accepted for publication in the journal Immunity & Ageing. - April 2016: Nate Bachtel is awarded the CCAS Luther Rice Fellowship for the 2016-17 academic year! - March 2016: Our paper entitled "RNAi-mediated gene knockdown by microinjection in the model entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora" was published in the journal Parasites and Vectors. - February 2016: Our paper entitled "Effects of co-occurring Wolbachia and Spiroplasma endosymbionts on the Drosophilaimmune response against insect pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria" was accepted for publication in the journal BMC Microbiology. - October 2015: Our new postdoc Dr. Jelena Patrnogic is joining our lab - Welcome Jelena! - September 2015: Our paper entitled "Entomopathogenic and plant pathogenic nematodes as opposing forces in agriculture" was accepted for publication in the journal International Journal for Parasitology. - September 2015: Our paper entitled "An improved method for generating axenic entomopathogenic nematodes" was accepted for publication in the journal BMC Research Notes. - August 2015: Dustin Cooper rejoins our lab, this time as graduate student. Welcome Dustin! - August 2015: Yukari Usuda joins our lab as a Research Assistant. Welcome Yukari! - July 2015: Upasana and Shruti presented their projects at the 13th International Society for Developmental and Comparative Immunology Congress in Murcia, Spain. - June 2015: Our paper entitled "Drosophila anti-nematode and antibacterial immune regulators revealed by RNA-Seq" was accepted for publication in BMC Genomics. - May 2015: Joanna defends successfully her and Enosinian Thesis - Congratulations! - March 2015: We have received R01 funding from NIH! - January 29, 2015: Upasana and Shruti win fellowships from the Cosmos Club Foundation. Congratulations! - January 8, 2015: Our lab is moving to the new GWU Science and Engineering Hall! - October 3, 2014: Upasana, Shruti and Joanna present their posters at the Harlan Posters event at GWU. - September 2014: Joanna is selected to join the GW Enosinian Scholars program. Congratulations! - September 2014: Akash Katakam and Katie Banks join the lab as undergraduate researchers. - August 2014: Eric Kenney (PhD student) joins the lab. - July 2014: We have received R56 funding from NIH! - July 2014: Our paper entitled: "Nitric Oxide levels regulate the immune response of Drosophila melanogaster reference laboratory strains to bacterial infections" was accepted for publication in the journal Infection and Immunity. - June 2014: Joanna Frazier joins the lab as undergraduate researcher and she receives a Harlan summer fellowship from the Biological Sciences Department - Congratulations! - May 2014: We have received R21 funding from NIH! - May 2014: Sarah, Julia and Tania present and defense successfully their Honors and Enosinian Theses - Congratulations! - February 2014: Our paper entitled: "Age-dependent effector polyfunctionality attrition via CD8-intrinsic TGF-beta signaling" was accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. - February 2014: Shruti Yadav has passed the Doctoral Comprehensive Examination - Congratulations! - January 2014: Rachael Holbreich (Undergraduate student) joins the lab. - September 2013: Bethany Stokes (MS student) and Tania Maldonado, Jack Fitzsimons (Undergraduate students) join the lab. - June 27, 2013: Our paper entitled: "Hemocyte density increases with developmental stage in an immune-challenged forest caterpillar" was accepted for publication in PLoS One. - May 30, 2013: Upasana wins a Harlan summer fellowship from the Department of Biological Sciences. - May 18, 2013: Ioannis receives the GWU CCAS award for Excellence in Undergraduate Departmental Advising. - April 25, 2013: Sarah was awarded the CCAS Luther Rice Fellowship for the 2013-14 academic year! - April 3-6, 2013: Julio and Upasana presented their posters at the Drosophila Research Conference that was held in Washington DC. - April 2, 2013: Jaishri Atri and Julia Accetta win 2nd prize at the GW Research Day for their poster presentation entitled: "Investigation of the role of endosymbiotic bacteria in the immune response to pathogenic infections" (see photos). - April 1, 2013: Ioannis was chosen to receive the 2013 CCAS Undergraduate Department Advising Award. The award will be received on May 18th at the respective CCAS Celebration events. - March 5, 2013: Julia Accetta was awarded the CCAS Luther Rice Fellowship for the 2013-14 academic year! - February 27, 2013: Our review paper entitled: "Endosymbiotic bacteria in insects: guardians of the immune system?" was accepted for publication in the open-access journal Frontiers in Physiology. |