Individual Listing

2202B GENOMICS BUILDING
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521

Pedra, Joao

Assistant Professor of Entomology

College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Entomology


Biography

João Pedra received his Ph.D. degree from Purdue University in 2004. Under the supervision of Dr. Barry Pittendrigh, he obtained his training in insect genomics and proteomics. In the fall of 2004, he moved to Yale University School of Medicine to pursue his studies in medical entomology and immunology. Under the supervision of Dr. Erol Fikrig, he worked on mechanisms of immunity and pathogenesis triggered by the tick-borne rickettsial pathogen Anaplasma phagocytophilum. In 2009, Dr. Pedra joined the faculty of the Department of Entomology and the Institute for Integrative Genome Biology as an Assistant Professor.

Degrees

B.Sc. Biology 1998

Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil

M.Sc. Agricultural Chemistry 2000

Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil

Ph.D. Entomology 2004

Purdue University

Awards

2007-2010 CDC K01 Mentored Public Health Research Scientist Development Award
2004 Student Recognition Award in Insect Molecular Biology (Entomology Foundation)
2003 C.C. Alexander Graduate Fellowship for Excellence in Research (Purdue University)


Research Area

The Pedra laboratory studies the mechanisms of immunity and pathogenesis triggered by the tick-borne pathogen A. phagocytophilum. A. phagocytophilum is an obligate intracellular bacterium that cycles between a mammalian host and an arthropod vector. A. phagocytophilum infects polymorphonuclear leukocytes and causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis – the second most common tick-borne disease in the United States. Three broad questions are currently under investigation in the Pedra laboratory: i) What are the mechanisms of A. phagocytophilum immunity in the mammalian host and the tick vector? ii) Are the mechanisms of innate immunity evolutionary conserved in ticks and mammals? iii) What are the molecular and cellular events that enable A. phagocytophilum to evade host and vector immunity? We envisage that deciphering the mechanisms of pathogenesis and immunity triggered by A. phagocytophilum may lead to the development of novel strategies that prevent or delay the onset of arthropod-borne diseases

Publications

Pedra, J.H.F., Cassel, S. L., Sutterwala, F.S. Sensing pathogens and danger signals by the inflammasome. Curr. Opin. Immunol. 21: 10-16. 2009.

Pedra, J.H.F., Mattner, J., Tao, J., Kerfoot, S.M., Davis, R.J., Flavell, R.A., Askenase, P.W., Yin, Z., and Fikrig. c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase 2 inhibits gamma interferon production during Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection. Infect. Immun., 76: 308-316. 2008.

Pedra, J.H.F., Sutterwala, F.S., Sukumaran, B., Ogura, Y., Qian, F., Montgomery, R.R., Flavell, R.A. and Fikrig, E. ASC/PYCARD and caspase-1 regulate the IL-18/IFN-ƒ× axis during Anaplasma phagocytophilum Infection. J. Immunol., 179: 4783-4791. 2007.

Pedra, J.H.F., Tao, J., Sutterwala, F.S., Sukumaran, B., Berliner, N., Bockenstedt, L.K., Flavell, R.A., Yin, Z., and Fikrig, E. IL-12/23p40-dependent clearance of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in the murine model of human anaplasmosis. FEMS Immunol. Med. Microbiol. 50: 401-410. 2007.

Pedra, J.H.F., Narasimhan, S., Deponte, K., Marcantonio, N., Kantor, F.S. and Fikrig, E. Disruption of the salivary protein 14 in Ixodes scapularis nymphs and impact on pathogen acquisition. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 75(4): 677-82. 2006.

Pedra, J.H.F., Sukumaran, B., Carlyon, J.A., Berliner, N. and Fikrig, E. Modulation of NB4 promyelocytic leukemic cell machinery by Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Genomics 86 (3): 365-377. 2005.