| Tricia Humphreys, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Biology
Office: Steffee B.211
Phone: 814-332-2967
Fax: 814-332-2789
E-mail: thumphre@allegheny.edu
Office Hours (Spring 2012)
Monday 3:30-5:00 p.m.
Tuesday 3:30-5:00 p.m.
Wednesday 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Friday 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Sign-up using the Sign Up function on Sakai if you're in one of my classes or an advisee, or email me (send an email request with 3 possible times) to set up a time if you don't have access to any of my Sakai sites.
Education
B.A. Thomas More College (Biology)
Ph.D. Miami University (Microbiology)
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Indiana University School of Medicine (Infectious
Diseases)
Fall 2011 Courses
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Spring 2012 Courses |
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| BIO 310, Microbiology |
FS BIO 201, Investigative Approaches in Biology |
| BIO 600, Senior Seminar |
BIO 580, Junior Seminar, Pathogenic Bacteriology |
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BIO 610, Senior Seminar |
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| Letter
of Recommendation Form |
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Research Interests
My research focuses on the obligate human pathogen Haemophilus ducreyi, the causative agent of the sexually transmitted disease chancroid. Like other genital ulcer diseases, chancroid facilitates the acquisition and transmission of HIV. My post-doctoral studies involved use of a human model of H. ducreyi infection as well as in vitro studies designed to delineate the human immune response to infection with this bacterium.
The long-term goal of my research is to understand host-pathogen interactions using H. ducreyi as a model system. Current projects focus on defining differences between the two classes of H. ducreyi. Class I and class II are known to differ in outer membrane components, but less is known about global genetic differences. Recently, undergraduates working in my lab discovered that the two classes have multiple point mutations in key virulence genes (pal, wecA, lspA2) as well as a gene commonly used to understand phylogenetic relationships (recA). When these genes are used to generate phylogenetic trees, the class I and II strains split consistently into two groups. Furthermore, LspA2 is a key factor in H. ducreyi's ability to resist phagocytosis. The differences in lspA2 may change the ability of class II strains to avoid uptake by phagocytic cells. Ongoing studies will further investigate the genetic differences between the two classes, focusing on genes under neutral selective
Background photo courtesy of Margaret Bauer, Fig
5B from Infect. Immun. 69:2549-2557 |