High School Operator

Logan Burns

Email: *********@********.***

Address: **** ******* ******, ***. *

City: Louisville

State: KY

Zip: 40242

Country: USA

Phone: 859-***-****

Skill Level: Entry

Salary Range: $50,000

Willing to Relocate

Primary Skills/Experience:

See Resume

Educational Background:

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Job History / Details:

Curriculum Vitae

Logan H. Burns, Ph.D.

Department of Periodontics, Endodontics and Oral hygiene

University of Louisville College of Dentistry

Donald E. Baxter Biomedical Research Building

570 S. Preston St., Louisville, KY 40202

Laboratory: 502-***-**** Cell: 859-***-****

Email: *********@********.***

CURRENT RESEARCH

Chronic periodontitis is among the most common polymicrobial diseases worldwide. Bacterial composition and load, as well as the host immune response, contribute to this disease that is characterized by inflammation of the periodontium and loss of alveolar bone. Hundreds of bacterial species colonize the human oral cavity, but relatively few are directly responsible for disease development. My research focuses on one such organism, the Gram-negative anaerobe Porphyromonas gingivalis. My projects are primarily concerned with the early stages of biofilm formation and the roles of the molecular constituents that mediate bacterial cell-to-cell interactions.

One objective is to further define the details of the interaction of the SspA/B surface proteins of Streptococcus gordonii with Mfa1 of P. gingivalis. A portion of SspB (BAR; SspB adherence region) that is essential for maintaining this cell-cell interaction was localized to a region spanning amino acid residues 1167 - 1250. The domain of Mfa1 that binds to BAR has not been defined. My research seeks to identify this domain and assess its potential use as an inhibitor of P. gingivalis biofilm formation and development.

Another project is concerned with the effect of para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) exposure on gingipain activity in P. gingivalis. PABA plays an important role in biofilm formation with S. gordonii and is known to upregulate several genes in P. gingivalis. The gingipains are cysteine proteases that are important virulence factors with numerous roles. We wish to observe any changes to gingipain activity that may prove conducive to typical biofilm formation following exposure to PABA.

My research also focuses on the characterization of the P. gingivalis DNA-binding protein CdhR, which is involved in the transcriptional regulation of genes that play roles in biofilm development and iron acquisition. The primary objective here is to prepare a purified sample of recombinant CdhR for crystallization on its own and in complex with one of its cognate DNA sequences.

FORMER RESEARCH

My Ph.D research focused on gene regulation in the pathogenic spirochetal bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, with an emphasis on DNA-protein interactions.

B. burgdorferi is a causative agent of Lyme disease. It is transmitted by hard-bodied ticks of the genus Ixodes. Lyme disease is the predominant vector-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. This multi-symptomatic disease commonly affects the skin, heart, joints and central nervous system. B. burgdorferi, an obligate parasite, is capable of infecting a broad spectrum of warm-blooded vertebrates in addition to the tick vector. It is efficiently transmitted from ticks to mammals and vice versa during its lifecycle. The success of B. burgdorferi is due in part to the ability of the bacteria to sense the environment and respond appropriately via up-regulating or down-regulating specific genes that encode proteins associated with the infection process.

My work focused on the characterization of a novel DNA-binding protein family in B. burgdorferi that possesses an important role in the regulation of the cp32 (circular plasmid; 32kb)-encoded erp genes, which encode outer-surface lipoproteins. Erp lipoproteins are common to Lyme disease agents and are highly expressed during mammalian infection, repressed during colonization of unfed ticks, and appear to be important virulence factors. My work revealed that the cp32-encoded BpaB proteins bind to an operator proximal to the -35 region within the erp promoters, which are highly conserved. The work of others has shown that BpaB is an erp gene transcriptional repressor. This collective research endeavor has contributed to the development of a model that proposes a mechanism to explain how the erp genes are regulated during infection.

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES

Wright, C. J., L. H. Burns, A. A. Jack, C. R. Back, L. C. Dutton, A. H. Nobbs, R. J. Lamont, and H. F. Jenkinson. 2012. Microbial interactions in building of communities. Mol. Oral Microbiol. ahead of print.

Chenail, A. M., B. L. Jutras, C. A. Adams, L. H. Burns, A. Bowman, A. Verma, and B. Stevenson. 2012. Borrelia burgdorferi cp32 BpaB modulates expression of the prophage NucP nuclease and SsbP single-stranded DNA-binding protein. J. Bacteriol. 194(17):4570-4578.

Jutras, B. L., A. Verma, C. A. Adams, C. A. Brissette, L. H. Burns, C. R. Whetstine, A. Bowman, A. M. Chenail, W. R. Zuckert, and B. Stevenson. 2012. BpaB and EbfC DNA-binding proteins regulate production of the Lyme disease spirochete's infection-associated Erp surface proteins. J. Bacteriol. 194(4): 778-786.

Burns, L. H., C. A. Adams, S. P. Riley, B. L. Jutras, A. Bowman, A. M. Chenail, A. E. Cooley, L. A. Haselhorst, A. M. Moore, K. Babb, M. G. Fried, and B. Stevenson. 2010. BpaB, a novel protein encoded by the Lyme disease spirochete`s cp32 prophages, binds to erp Operator 2 DNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 38(16): 5443-5455.

Riley, S. P., T. Bykowski, A. E. Cooley, L. H. Burns, K. Babb, C. A. Brissette, A. Bowman, M. Rotondi, M. C. Miller, E. DeMoll, K. Lim, M. G. Fried, and B. Stevenson. 2009. Borrelia burgdorferi EbfC defines a newly-identified, widespread family of bacterial DNA-binding proteins. Nucleic Acids Res. 37(6): 1973-1983.

Brissette, C. A., A. E. Cooley, L. H. Burns, S. P. Riley, A. Verma, M. E. Woodman, T. Bykowski, and B. Stevenson. 2008. Lyme borreliosis spirochete Erp proteins, their known host ligands, and potential roles in mammalian infection. Int. J. Med. Microbiol. 298 Suppl 1: 257-267.

Kraiczy, P., A. Seling, C. A. Brissette, E. Rossmann, K. P. Hunfeld, T. Bykowski, L. H. Burns, M. J. Troese, A. E. Cooley, J. C. Miller, V. Brade, R. Wallich, S. Casjens, and B. Stevenson. 2008. Borrelia burgdorferi complement regulator-acquiring surface protein 2 (CspZ) as a serological marker of human Lyme disease. Clin. Vac. Immunol. 15(3): 484-491.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Burns, L. H., C. A. Adams, S. P. Riley, A. Bowman, A. M. Chenail, A. E. Cooley, B. L. Jutras, L. A. Haselhorst, A. M. Moore, K. Babb, M. G. Fried and B. Stevenson. 2010. BpaB (Borrelia burgdorferi ParB-analogue) binds to erp Operator 2 DNA and to the bppA promoter. Gordon Research Conference: Biology of Spirochetes, Ventura, CA.

Burns, L. H., S. P. Riley, A. Bowman, A. E. Cooley, B. L. Jutras, L. A. Haselhorst, A. M. Moore, K. Babb, M. G. Fried and B. Stevenson. 2009. BpaB, a novel protein encoded by Borrelia burgdorferi cp32 prophages, binds to Operator 2 DNA of the Lyme disease spirochete`s erp loci. Microbial Pathogenesis & Host Response, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY.

Burns, L. H., S. P. Riley, A. Bowman, A. E. Cooley, B. L. Jutras, L. A. Haselhorst, A. M. Moore, K. Babb, M. G. Fried and B. Stevenson. 2009. BpaB, a novel protein encoded by Borrelia burgdorferi cp32 prophages, binds to Operator 2 DNA of the Lyme disease spirochete`s erp loci. 109th General Meeting of American Society for Microbiology, Philadelphia, PA.

Burns, L. H., S. P. Riley, A. Bowman, A. E. Cooley, B. L. Jutras, L. A. Haselhorst, A. M. Moore, K. Babb, M. G. Fried and B. Stevenson. 2008. BpaB, a novel protein encoded by Borrelia burgdorferi cp32 prophages, binds to Operator 2 DNA of the Lyme disease spirochete`s erp loci. 11th International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and Other Tick-borne Diseases, Irvine, CA.

Burns, L. H., S. P. Riley, A. E. Cooley, K. Babb, M. G. Fried and B. Stevenson. 2008. BpaB, a novel Borrelia burgdorferi cp32-encoded protein, binds to a specific sequence of erp Operator 2 DNA. Gordon Research Conference: Biology of Spirochetes, Ventura, CA.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION

2011-present: Postdoctoral Associate (Oral Microbiology) University of Louisville, Louisville, KY.

2005-2010: Ph.D. (Microbiology) University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.

Dissertation title: Characterization of BpaB, a putative Borrelia burgdorferi ParB-analogue.

(Mentor: Brian Stevenson, Ph.D.)

2003-2005: Master of Science (Biology) Morehead State University, Morehead, KY.

Thesis title: The Use of Antibiotic Resistance Profiles to Assign the Source of Fecal Contamination in the Rowan County, Kentucky Watershed.

(Mentor: Geoffrey Gearner, Ph.D.)

1999-2003: Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude (Biology) Morehead State University, Morehead, KY.

RESEARCH SKILLS

Bacteria cultivation; anaerobic and aerobic conditions

Polymerase chain reaction (standard and real-time)

DNA cloning/Bacterial transformation and screening

Recombinant protein expression and purification

SDS-PAGE & immunoblotting

Electrophoretic mobility shift assay/supershift assay

Confocal microscopy (Biofilm imaging)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Fall 2007: Teaching Assistant, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.

Summer 2005: Teaching Assistant, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY.

Summer 2004: Teaching Assistant, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY.

AWARDS AND HONORS

2007-2008: UK Graduate School Academic Excellence Scholarship.

2006-2007: Training Program in Microbial Pathogenesis, NIAID.

2002: Phi Kappa Phi, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY.

2001: Dean`s List, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY.

1999-2003: Academic Honors Student Association, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY.

1999: Regency Scholarship, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY.

1999: Dr. W. Reid Thompson Class of '69 Memorial Science Scholarship, Washington County

High School, Springfield, KY.

1999: Nine-Year Perfect Attendance Award, Washington County High School, Springfield, KY.

1999: Valedictorian, Washington County High School, Springfield, KY.

1998: Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award, Washington County High School, Springfield,

KY.

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