Research Project Leaders and Mentors

 

Research Project Leaders

Huang, George, PhD

Kirchberger, Paul, PhD

Lin, Daniel, PhD

Stubbendieck, Reed, PhD

Vazquez Sanroman, Dolores, PhD

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Research Mentors

Dr. Mostafa Elshahed

Dr. Elshahed mentors Paul Kirchberger. Dr. Elshahed has a broad range of experience with anaerobes, making him an ideal Mentor for Dr. Kirchberger, the RPL of Project 2, who seeks to establish model systems and characterize Microviridae that infect strict anaerobes. Dr. Elshahed is active on research fronts spanning all three domains of life. He served as PI on an NSF Microbial Observatory grant from 2008 to 2015 and has maintained NSF funding since joining OSU in 2007. His work currently focuses on two main research areas: environmental genomics of novel yet-uncultured microbial phyla, and metabolism, genomics, and biotechnological potential of anaerobic gut fungi. He has successfully mentored 1 Research Assistant Professor, 6 Graduate Students, 3 Post-doctoral Researchers, 2 Laboratory Technicians, 24 Undergraduate Students, and 11 visiting scholars. Dr. Elshahed has published over 100 publications in high impact factor journals. All of his post-doctoral advisees currently hold tenured or tenure-track faculty positions. Five of his graduate students were first generation college students and are experiencing success in industry and academia. For instance, one of Dr. Elshahed’s former graduate students is currently an Assistant Professor at Harvard University’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He provides direct, on-site guidance in project planning, regulatory compliance, anaerobic microbiology, and data analysis to Dr. Kirchberger. He also assists with his publications, grant writing, and interdisciplinary collaborations.

 

Dr. Clinton Jones

Dr. Clint Jones mentors Paul Kirchberger, Project 2 RPL. Dr. Jones is a Professor of Veterinary Pathobiology at the OSU College of Veterinary Medicine. He completed his PhD at the University of Kansas and a postdoc at Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine Laboratory of Viral Carcinogenesis. He has published over 180 articles and authored 7 book chapters. Dr. Jones has an NIH NINDS R01 grant (Stress-Mediated Regulation of HSV-1 Reactivation from Latency) and two USDA NIFA grants (Regulation of bovine herpesvirus 1 reactivation from latency by progesterone and corticosteroids and Maintenance of bovine herpesvirus 1 latency by viral and cellular factors). He discovered that latent gene products inhibit apoptosis and identified cellular transcription factors in sensory neurons of trigeminal ganglia induced by the synthetic corticosteroid dexamethasone during BHV-1 and HSV-1 reactivation from latency. His focus on viral pathogens makes him an ideal Mentor for Dr. Kirchberger. In 2021, Dr. Jones received the Oklahoma A&M Regents Distinguished Research Award. He has successfully mentored 20 graduate students and 14 postdocs. He mentors Dr. Kirchberger on project planning, research design, and data analysis in addition to grant development and writing and dissemination.

 

Dr. Gerwald Koehler

Dr. Koehler mentors Drs. George Huang and Dolores Vazquez Sanroman, RPLs of Projects 1 and 5. Dr. Koehler’s research focuses on two main areas: the pathogenesis of fungal infections and the role of the mammalian gut microbiome in health and disease. He also serves as Associate Director for the OCMR on the OSU-CHS campus. Dr. Koehler’s knowledge of human and animal microbiomes makes him an excellent choice as Mentor for these two projects, which involve the characterization of microbiome impacts on oral cancer and opioid-induced dysbiosis. Through his past research projects at the Technical University of Munich, the University of Würzburg, and the University of California San Francisco, and his current work at OSU-CHS, he has garnered many years of experience in molecular microbiology, genomics, and bioinformatics (e.g., QIIME 2, mothur). Dr. Koehler has over 25 years of experience in mentoring graduate students. He also trained two post-doctoral researchers. At OSU-CHS he has served on 55 Graduate Advisory Committees and was the Major Advisor for 12 students. Dr. Koehler has mentored summer undergraduate students in INBRE and TABERC (Tulsa Area Bioscience Education & Research Consortium) programs. In 2015, Dr. Koehler received the Regents’ Distinguished Teaching Award in part due to his mentoring success. As the Interim Chair of the OSU-CHS Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, he supervises seven faculty members. Five of these individuals are tenure-track and he provides guidance and mentorship in their career development. He provides direct, on-site guidance in project planning, regulatory compliance, sample collection and processing, next-generation sequencing, and data analysis to Drs. Huang and Vazquez Sanroman. He also advises them in their publication, grant writing, and interdisciplinary collaboration efforts. Dr. Koehler is Dr. Huang’s department Head, and he has been collaborating with Dr. Vazquez Sanroman on several opioid-related microbiome research projects.

 

Dr. Lijun Xia

Dr. Xia mentors Dr. George Huang, RPL of Project 1. He is a Member and Chair of the Cardiovascular Biology Research Program at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) in Oklahoma City, where he holds the Merrick Foundation Chair in Medical Research. He brings considerable experience to OCMR because he is PI of the Center for Cellular Metabolism Research in Oklahoma (CMRO) COBRE grant. Dr. Xia represents OMRF in recruiting future pilot and research projects for OCMR and serves as liaison for Research Core synergies. He is PI on three NIH R01 grants. He discovered novel functions of O-glycosylation in platelet function, vascular biology, and intestinal inflammation/tumorigenesis. He published more than 133 peer-reviewed papers in journals such as Nature, Science, and PNAS. Dr. Xia also has expertise in metabolic research. His lab recently reported in Science an essential role for colonic O-glycans in maintaining host-microbiota symbiosis through regulating the structure and metabolic output of the microbiota. His newly funded R01 grant builds on his discovery of a new role of site-1 protease in mannose-6-phosphate-dependent lysosomal enzyme trafficking and lipid metabolism in endothelial cells. He has won numerous awards including most recently the Edward L. Thelma Gaylord Prize for Scientific Achievement from the OMRF. Dr. Xia’s experience leading the CMRO-COBRE and knowhow of host-microbiota interactions are valuable assets to the OCMR and specifically as Mentor to Dr. Huang. He provides guidance in project planning, cellular metabolism, and data analysis.

 

Dr. Stephen Clarke

Dr. Clarke mentors Dr. Dingbo Lin, RPL for Project 3, which studies the metabolism and impact of dietary carotenoids on the gut microbiome and host immune cell activation. Dr. Clarke is Associate Dean for Research in the OSU College of Education and Human Sciences. He is a member of the Board of Human Sciences of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the Association of Nutrition Departments and Programs. After finishing his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. Since joining OSU, Clarke has served OSU as Department Head of Nutritional Sciences, Head of OSU Faculty Council, Chair of the Healthcare and Wellness Committee, and member of the OSU Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Council. In addition to serving as an external program reviewer for Nutrition and Dietetic programs, he has served as a Faculty Teaching Fellow, participated as a panelist for the OSU Academic Leadership Academy, and has presented faculty development workshops for the Institute of Teaching and Learning Excellence. He has over 80 publications. Dr. Clarke’s research at the crossover point of nutrition and biochemistry makes him an excellent Mentor for Dr. Lin. He mentors Dr. Lin on project planning, nutritional biochemistry, and data analysis. He also assists with publication, grant writing, and interdisciplinary collaborations.

 

Dr. Janeen Johnson-Salak

Dr. Johnson-Salak mentors Dr. Dingbo Lin, RPL for Project 3. She is the Temple Grandin Endowed Chair in Animal Behavior and Well-being in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences. She trained as an interdisciplinary scientist in both the animal and human sciences. She was a recipient of an NIH postdoctoral training fellowship in psychoneuroimmunology at the University of Minnesota. Working with rodents and pigs, she gained skills and expertise in brain physiology, immunity, virology, drug addiction, and neurophysiological aspects of pain. Dr. Salak-Johnson brings a diversity of expertise in the basic sciences, especially areas of stress immunophysiology, behavior, neuroendocrinology, and well-being. She has over 50 publications. Her diverse background and her great understanding of animal physiology and microbiome function that developed from her work assessing prenatal stress on gut-immune interactions and microbiome homeostasis on enteric health greatly benefit Dr. Lin’s studies of dietary carotenoid metabolism and its impacts on host physiology. She has successfully mentored over 38 graduate students and 6 early career faculty members. Dr. Johnson-Salak provides mentorship in project planning, animal experiments, and data analysis in addition to grant development and dissemination.

 

Dr. Paul Lawson

Dr. Lawson mentors Reed Stubbendieck, RPL for Project 4. Dr. Lawson is a Presidential Professor of Microbiology. He relocated to the University of Oklahoma (OU) from the University of Reading, UK, where he spent 14 years as a Senior Research Fellow with the world-renowned microbial taxonomist Dr. M. David Collins. Dr. Lawson’s participation establishes the connection with faculty at OU. Dr. Lawson contributed to a fundamental restructuring of the genus Clostridium. He also described many taxa commonly found in the human microbiome. His work on systematics and taxonomy has contributed a diverse publication record (>200), including more than 25 chapters in Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. In 2011 he founded the “Center for Microbial Identification and Taxonomy” at OU, bringing together seamless use of traditional microbiological and molecular techniques. In 2019 he became a Fulbright Scholar investigating the microbiomes of Lactic Acid bacteria at the University of Technology, Cyprus. Dr. Lawson’s track record establishes him as a world leader in the characterization and taxonomy of anaerobes. He brings this knowledge to the OCMR-COBRE to benefit all the research projects, especially as Mentor to Dr. Stubbendieck. He has successfully mentored over 12 graduate students and 2 postdocs. He provides direct, on-site guidance in project planning, regulatory compliance, and data analysis.

 

Dr. Kyle Simmons

Dr. Simmons mentors Dolores Vazquez Sanroman, RPL of Project 5. Dr. Simmons is an Associate Professor in Pharmacology & Physiology at OSU-CHS and Director of the OSU Biomedical Imaging Center. He is an experienced neuroscientist with over 75 peer-reviewed publications totaling >15,000 citations. He is Co-Director of the Biological Systems Research Core for OSU-CHS’s CIRCA-COBRE, overseeing the collection, analysis, and interpretation of all biosample and neuroimaging data across the CIRCA projects. Dr. Simmons serves as a bridge between OCMR and CIRCA. Dr. Simmons is an internationally recognized expert in body-brain signaling (i.e., ‘interoception’) and its influences on mental health and substance use. As a brain physiology and function expert with a keen interest in microbiome function in the gut-brain axis, Dr. Simmons is well suited to serve as Mentor to Dr. Vazquez Sanroman, whose project seeks to determine the causes of microbiome shifts due to opioid dependency and withdrawal. He provides direct guidance in project planning, regulatory compliance, and data analysis.