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Gerardo R. Vasta, PhD

Academic Title:

Professor

Primary Appointment:

Microbiology and Immunology

Location:

Columbus Center, 701 E. Pratt Street, 3061/3062

Phone (Primary):

(410) 234-8826

Phone (Secondary):

(410) 234-8827

Fax:

(410) 385-6345

Education and Training

National University La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, School of Exact Sciences, Chemist, 1972

National University La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, School of Exact Sciences, Licenciate in Biochemistry, 1973

National University La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, School of Natural Sciences, Licenciate in Zoology, 1976

National University La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, School of Exact Sciences, Doctor (PhD) in Biochemistry, 1978

National University La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, School of Natural Sciences, Doctor (PhD) in Zoology, 1980

Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, NY, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Clinical Immunology Section, 1979-1980.

Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Post-Doctoral Fellow, 1981-1982.

Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Research Associate, 1982-1984.

Biosketch

Dr. Vasta is a leading research scientist in the area of glycosciences, who is recognized for his significant contributions to the field of protein-carbohydrate interactions in innate immunity, development, and cancer. His multidisciplinary background training and research experience have facilitated a fluid communication with expert collaborators in various fields in the biomedical sciences that led to highly integrated, interdisciplinary research projects. These have been very productive both from the scientific output as well as the education/training standpoints.

Dr. Vasta’s research projects, supported by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, among other agencies, have revealed key information on the structural and functional relationships of carbohydrate binding proteins in fundamental processes in various model systems including the zebrafish, C. elegans, eastern oyster, and mice.  Early studies in Dr. Vasta’s lab were focused on C-type lectins in innate immune recognition and effector functions against microbial pathogens in non-mammalian models, mostly invertebrate and ectothermic vertebrate species. These initial studies opened new avenues of research in the basic structural and biophysical aspects of protein-carbohydrate interactions. These studies also served for the rational development of natural and synthetic inhibitors for lectin binding for basic and translational applications. During the past two and a half decades, on the roles of galectins in development, immune regulation and pathogen recognition have been a major focus of Dr. Vasta’s lab. Studies using the zebrafish model were aimed at elucidating the role(s) of selected lectins in skeletal muscle development, eye lens development, and retinal regeneration. Functional studies of galectins in cancer in a murine model enabled the development of highly reliable diagnostic methods for early stages of prostate adenocarcinoma, as well as effective inhibitors for cancer metastasis. Studies on the role(s) of galectins in infectious disease were investigated using invertebrate and vertebrate model systems, and showed that galectins can either promote or inhibit pathogen adhesion to the host cell surface. Further, Dr. Vasta’s lab recently showed that galectins can recognize pathogenic viruses such as influenza A, and facilitate viral infection and promote a subsequent pneumococcal pneumonia. Ongoing studies should lead to a better understanding of the mechanistic aspects of the roles of galectins in the regulation of the innate immune response to lung infections.

Throughout his career Dr. Vasta has been very active in education and training, mentoring numerous PhD and MSc students. Furthermore, his lab regularly hosts high school and undergraduate summer interns who fully participate in the ongoing research projects.

Research/Clinical Keywords

Glycobiology, Glycoimmunology, Lectin, Galectin, F-Lectin, Glycan Receptor, Molecular Recognition, Protein Chemistry, Molecular Biology, Transcriptomics, Genomics, Recombinant Expression, Innate Immunity, Inflammatory Signaling Pathways, Epithelial Cells, Hemocyte, Macrophage, Leukocyte, Protozoan Parasite, Virus, PRR, PAMP, MAMP, Intracellular Signaling, Galectin Inhibitor

Highlighted Publications

Harvell, C.D., Kim, K., Burkholder, J.M., Colwell, R.R., Epstein, P.R., Grimes, D.J., Hofmann, E.E., Lipp, E.K., Osterhaus, A.D.M.E., Overstreet, R.M., Porter, J.W., Smith, G.W., and Vasta, G.R. (1999) Emerging marine diseases-climate links and anthropogenic factors. Science, 285: 1505-1510

Vasta, G.R. (2009) Roles of galectins in infection. Nature Reviews Microbiol. 7:424-438.

Feng C, Ghosh A, Amin MN, Giomarelli B, Shridhar S, Banerjee A, Fernández-Robledo JA, Bianchet MA, Wang LX, Wilson IB, Vasta GR. (2013) The galectin CvGal1 from the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) binds to blood group A oligosaccharides on the hemocyte surface. J Biol Chem. 288(34): 24394-409

Feng C, Nita-Lazar M, González-Montalbán N, Wang J, Mancini J, Ravindran C, Ahmed H, Vasta GR. Manipulating galectin expression in zebrafish (Danio rerio). (2015) Methods Mol Biol. 1207:327-41

Nita-Lazar M, Banerjee A, Feng , and Vasta GR. (2015) Galectins regulate the inflammatory response in airway epithelial cells exposed to microbial neuraminidase by modulating the expression of SOCS1 and RIG1. Mol Immunol. 68:194-202

Vasta GR (2016) Lectins as innate immune recognition factors: Structural, functional, and evolutionary aspects. In “The Evolution of the Immune System” edited by D. Malagoli (Ed) p 205-224. Elsevier, London, UK

Nita-Lazar M, Mancini J, Feng C, González-Montalbán N, Ravindran C, Jackson S, Heras-Sánchez AL, Giomarelli B, Ahmed H, Haslam SM, Wu G, Dell A, Ammayappan A, Vakharia VN, Vasta GR (2016) The zebrafish galectins Drgal1-L2 and Drgal3-L1 bind in vitro to the infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) glycoprotein and reduce viral adhesion to fish epithelial cells. Dev Comp Immunol. 55:241-52

Additional Publication Citations

Awards and Affiliations

Honor Student Award, Mar del Plata City Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1968-1973

National University Fellowship for Undergraduate Students. Department of Biology, School of Exact Sciences, National University, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1966-1970.

National Fellowship for Scientific (Graduate) Research. National Council of Scientific and Technological Research of Argentina, Department of Biology, School of Exact Sciences, National University, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1974-1976.

National Fellowship for Scientific (Post-Graduate) Research. National Council of Scientific and Technological Research of Argentina, Department of Biology, School of Exact Sciences, National University, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.1976-1978.

International Fellowship for Scientific (Post-Doctoral) Research. National Council of Scientific and Technological Research of Argentina. Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, NY Clinical Immunology Section, Department of Laboratory Medicine. 1979-1980.

Post-Doctoral Fellowship. Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Biochemistry, Charleston, SC, 1981.

Fogarty Fellowship, Fogarty Institute, National Institutes of Health. Department of Biochemistry, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston SC, 1981-1983.

Nuffield Foundation Award, Cooperation Project "Humoral and Cellular Immunity in Invertebrates" (With Dr. A. Lackie) Department of Biology, Glasgow University, Glasgow, U.K., 1984-85.

Travel Scholarship. Third International Congress of Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry, Tokyo. Workshop "Invertebrate Defense Mechanisms", 1991.

Faculty Award, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. Presented at the Faculty Awards Ceremony, Governor Calvert House, Annapolis, MD February 2006

J. William Fulbright Scholar International Award, United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), 2007

International Scientific Advisory Committee Member of the AMSUD-Pasteur Programme, Institut Pasteur de Paris (2007-2012).

Board of Scientific Counselors Review and Evaluation of Intramural Programs at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Bethesda, MD, 2011

National Award “Raíces”, Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation, National Federal Government, Argentina, 2016

Member of the Editorial Board of Scientific Journals:

  • Journal of Marine Biology (2008- present)
  • Glycobiology (2011-present)
  • Invertebrate Immunity (2014-present)

Member of the Review Panels/Study Sections and Advisory Boards:

  • Immunology, National Institutes of Health.  1992-1999
  • Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, National Institutes of Health.1996-2001 (Ad hoc)
  • Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology, National Science Foundation. 1999-2000.
  • Immunology, National Institutes of Health. 1999-2006
  • J. William Fulbright Scholar International Awards, United States Department of State, Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES). 2008-2011
  • Innate Immunity & Inflammation, National Institutes of Health, Full member 2009-2013
  • External Advisory Committee Member, NIH Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research Program (MARC/U-STAR) Florida International University, Miami, Florida, 2000-present

Professional Activity

Undergraduate Assistant, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Exact Sciences, National University, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1970-1972

Graduate Instructor, Serological Genetics Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Exact Sciences, National University, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1973-1974

Graduate Instructor, Human Anatomy, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Exact Sciences, National University, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1973-1979

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Clinical Immunology Section, Buffalo, NY, 1979-1980.

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 1981-1982.

Research Associate, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 1982-1984.

Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 1984-1989.

Associate Professor, Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, 1989-1997.

Visiting Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Exact Sciences, National University, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1993 and 2003

Faculty Associate (Professor) of the Continuing Education Program, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 1992-2000.

Consultant for Research, Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, 1996- 2001

Professor, Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, 1997 - 2009

Fulbright International Scholar, Department of Immunology, School of Exact Sciences, National University, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2007

Guest Professor, Department of Chemistry, Universität für Bodenkultur, Vienna, Austria, Academic year 2014-2015

Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, UMB, and Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology. 2009 - present.