# overview
Our laboratory is working on three areas of biomedicine, trying to move observations from basic research into the clinic. First, we are studying how the sizes of tissues and tumors are regulated, and how this can be manipulated for therapeutic purposes. As a model system, we are using the simple eukaryote Dictyostelium discoideum, which allows us to combine techniques such as biochemistry, genetics, computer modeling, and cell biology to study tissue size regulation. We have found that a secreted protein as well as the unusual molecule polyphosphate are signals in negative feedback loops that inhibit Dictyostelium cell proliferation, and we are studying the signal transduction pathway to understand similar mechanisms in humans.

Second, we are studying how some secreted proteins can make cells move away from the source of the signal. We found such a signal (called a chemorepellent) in Dictyostelium, and then found a similar signal in humans. We are working to understand the signal transduction pathway for both. The human signal repels neutrophils, and we found that this can be used therapeutically in mouse models of neutrophil-driven diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Third, we have found that a human blood protein called Serum Amyloid P (SAP) regulates a key step in the formation of scar tissue as well as the formation of the scar-like lesions in fibrosing diseases such as congestive heart failure and pulmonary fibrosis. We are studying this mechanism, and a biotech company (Promedior, now sold to Roche) we co-founded is testing SAP as a therapy for fibrosis in patients in a Phase 3 trials.

# keywords[]
5 Development Of Treatments And Therapeutic Interventions

# keywords[]
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

# keywords[]
Intercellular Signaling Peptides And Proteins

# keywords[]
3201 Cardiovascular Medicine And Haematology

# keywords[]
Intercellular Signaling Peptides And Proteins

# keywords[]
Intracellular Signaling Peptides And Proteins

# keywords[]
Intercellular Signaling Peptides And Proteins

# keywords[]
Intercellular Signaling Peptides And Proteins

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
Pomona College - (Claremont, California, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
California Institute of Technology - (Pasadena, California, United States)

# educationAndTraining[].organization.label
University of California, San Diego - (San Diego, California, United States)

# awardsAndHonors[].label
Association of Former Students University-Level Distinguished Achievement Award, The

# publications[].label
A precise group size in Dictyostelium is generated by a cell-counting factor modulating cell-cell adhesion.

# publications[].label
Complexity of the Neurospora crassa Circadian Clock System: Multiple Loops and Oscillators

# publications[].label
Protease activated-receptor 2 is necessary for neutrophil chemorepulsion induced by trypsin, tryptase, or dipeptidyl peptidase IV.

# publications[].label
A strategy to study development and pattern formation: use of antibodies against products of cloned genes.

# publications[].label
High-Fat Diet-Induced Adipose Tissue and Liver Inflammation and Steatosis in Mice Are Reduced by Inhibiting Sialidases.

# publications[].label
Fibrocytes and Collagen-Producing Cells of the Peripheral Blood

# publications[].label
Phenocopy of discoidin I-minus mutants by antisense transformation in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Toll-like receptor 2 agonists inhibit human fibrocyte differentiation.

# publications[].label
Functional similarities between the dictyostelium protein AprA and the human protein dipeptidyl-peptidase IV.

# publications[].label
A G protein-coupled receptor with a lipid kinase domain is involved in cell-density sensing.

# publications[].label
A secreted protein is an endogenous chemorepellant in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
The long pentraxin PTX3 promotes fibrocyte differentiation.

# publications[].label
Cell-autonomous determination of cell-type choice in Dictyostelium development by cell-cycle phase.

# publications[].publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

# publications[].label
PSF and CMF, autocrine factors that regulate gene expression during growth and early development of Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
A second UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase is required for differentiation and development in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
FcRI mediates serum amyloid P inhibition of fibrocyte differentiation.

# publications[].label
Multiple oscillators regulate circadian gene expression in Neurospora.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
Mitoskelin: a mitochondrial protein found in cytoskeletal preparations.

# publications[].label
Reduction of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis by serum amyloid P.

# publications[].publisher
The American Association of Immunologists

# publications[].label
Spatial and temporal regulation of a foreign gene by a prestalk-specific promoter in transformed Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
A secreted cell number counting factor represses intracellular glucose levels to regulate group size in dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
A density-sensing factor regulates signal transduction in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
The versatile Dictyostelium discoideum. Meeting report: International Dictyostelium Conference 2002.

# publications[].label
The cdk5 homologue, crp, regulates endocytosis and secretion in dictyostelium and is necessary for optimum growth and differentiation.

# publications[].label
Circulating progenitor cells and scleroderma.

# publications[].label
A secreted factor represses cell proliferation in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Peritoneal Dialysis Fluid and Some of Its Components Potentiate Fibrocyte Differentiation.

# publications[].label
Regulation of cell-type-specific gene expression in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Two circadian timing circuits in Neurospora crassa cells share components and regulate distinct rhythmic processes.

# publications[].label
Evoking picomolar binding in RNA by a single phosphorodithioate linkage.

# publications[].label
Dictyostelium cells bind a secreted autocrine factor that represses cell proliferation.

# publications[].label
Brain serum amyloid P levels are reduced in individuals that lack dementia while having Alzheimer's disease neuropathology.

# publications[].label
Highspeed Keck spectroscopy of flares and oscillations in AE Aquarii

# publications[].label
The discovery and broadband follow-up of the transient afterglow of GRB 980703

# publications[].label
Disruption of aldehyde reductase increases group size in dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Sialidase inhibitors attenuate pulmonary fibrosis in a mouse model.

# publications[].label
A protein in crude cytosol regulates glucose-6-phosphatase activity in crude microsomes to regulate group size in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
The p21-activated kinase (PAK) family member PakD is required for chemorepulsion and proliferation inhibition by autocrine signals in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
A cell number counting factor alters cell metabolism.

# publications[].label
Serum amyloid P and fibrosis in systemic sclerosis: comment on the article by Tennent et al.

# publications[].label
Cell motility mediates tissue size regulation in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Doppler signatures of H flares in AE Aquarii

# publications[].label
A density-sensing factor controls development in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
ABC transporters required for endocytosis and endosomal pH regulation in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Serum Amyloid P and a Dendritic Cell-Specific Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-3-Grabbing Nonintegrin Ligand Inhibit High-Fat Diet-Induced Adipose Tissue and Liver Inflammation and Steatosis in Mice.

# publications[].label
Antisense: a key tool for cell and developmental studies in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Inhibiting Sialidase-Induced TGF-1 Activation Attenuates Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice.

# publications[].publisher
American Society for Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)

# publications[].label
Identification of compounds that decrease numbers of Mycobacteria in human macrophages in the presence of serum amyloid P.

# publications[].label
Exposure of cells to a cell number-counting factor decreases the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase to decrease intracellular glucose levels in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
Improved serum-free culture conditions for spleen-derived murine fibrocytes.

# publications[].label
Emissionline oscillations in the dwarf nova V2051 Ophiuchi

# publications[].label
Combining experiments and modelling to understand size regulation in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
Secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging of Dictyostelium discoideum aggregation streams.

# publications[].label
Different temporal patterns of expression result in the same type, amount, and distribution of filamin (ABP) in cardiac and skeletal myofibrils.

# publications[].label
The sialidase NEU3 promotes pulmonary fibrosis in mice.

# publications[].label
Cellular and subcellular distribution of a cAMP-regulated prestalk protein and prespore protein in Dictyostelium discoideum: a study on the ontogeny of prestalk and prespore cells.

# publications[].label
Developmental regulation of a Dictyostelium gene encoding a protein homologous to mammalian ras protein.

# publications[].label
TGF-1 increases sialidase 3 expression in human lung epithelial cells by decreasing its degradation and upregulating its translation.

# publications[].label
New approaches to modulating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

# publications[].label
The putative bZIP transcription factor BzpN slows proliferation and functions in the regulation of cell density by autocrine signals in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Cell density-sensing in Dictyostelium by means of the accumulation rate, diffusion coefficient and activity threshold of a protein secreted by starved cells.

# publications[].label
A serum amyloid P-binding hydrogel speeds healing of partial thickness wounds in pigs.

# publications[].label
Inhibitors of the Sialidase NEU3 as Potential Therapeutics for Fibrosis.

# publications[].label
A single cell density-sensing factor stimulates distinct signal transduction pathways through two different receptors.

# publications[].label
A CD209 ligand and a sialidase inhibitor differentially modulate adipose tissue and liver macrophage populations and steatosis in mice on the Methionine and Choline-Deficient (MCD) diet.

# publications[].label
Different Isoforms of the Neuronal Guidance Molecule Slit2 Directly Cause Chemoattraction or Chemorepulsion of Human Neutrophils.

# publications[].publisher
The American Association of Immunologists

# publications[].label
The Development of Serum Amyloid P as a Possible Therapeutic.

# publications[].label
Overexpression of White Collar-1 (WC-1) activates circadian clock-associated genes, but is not sufficient to induce most light-regulated gene expression in Neurospora crassa.

# publications[].label
A cell-density sensing factor regulates the lifetime of a chemoattractant-induced G alpha-GTP conformation.

# publications[].label
Inhibition of fibrocyte differentiation by serum amyloid P.

# publications[].publisher
The American Association of Immunologists

# publications[].label
The Use of Diffusion Calculations and Monte Carlo Simulations to Understand the Behavior of Cells in Dictyostelium Communities.

# publications[].label
A protein containing a serine-rich domain with vesicle fusing properties mediates cell cycle-dependent cytosolic pH regulation.

# publications[].label
Initial cell type choice in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Persistent lung inflammation and fibrosis in serum amyloid P component (APCs-/-) knockout mice.

# publications[].label
Rapid keck spectroscopy of cataclysmic variables

# publications[].label
Pivotal Advance: Th-1 cytokines inhibit, and Th-2 cytokines promote fibrocyte differentiation.

# publications[].label
CF45-1, a secreted protein which participates in Dictyostelium group size regulation.

# publications[].label
Galectin-3 Binding Protein Secreted by Breast Cancer Cells Inhibits Monocyte-Derived Fibrocyte Differentiation.

# publications[].publisher
The American Association of Immunologists

# publications[].label
Mathematically modelling the effects of counting factor in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
Mutagenesis and gene identification in Dictyostelium by shotgun antisense.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
cAMP induction of prespore and prestalk gene expression in Dictyostelium is mediated by the cell-surface cAMP receptor.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
Serum Amyloid P inhibits single stranded RNA-induced lung inflammation, lung damage, and cytokine storm in mice.

# publications[].label
Switching of filamin polypeptides during myogenesis in vitro.

# publications[].label
An improved shotgun antisense method for mutagenesis and gene identification.

# publications[].label
DC-SIGN activation mediates the differential effects of SAP and CRP on the innate immune system and inhibits fibrosis in mice.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
Serum amyloid P inhibits dermal wound healing.

# publications[].label
Investigational approaches to therapies for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

# publications[].label
The putative G protein-coupled receptor GrlD mediates extracellular polyphosphate sensing in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].publisher
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)

# publications[].label
Cell-density sensing: come on inside and tell us about it.

# publications[].label
The cell density factor CMF regulates the chemoattractant receptor cAR1 in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Using Dictyostelium to Develop Therapeutics for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

# publications[].label
Extracellular polyphosphate signals through Ras and Akt to prime Dictyostelium discoideum cells for development.

# publications[].label
Highspeed Keck II and RXTE spectroscopy of Cygnus X2  I. Three Xray components revealed by correlated variability

# publications[].label
Disrupted function of tumor necrosis factor-alpha-stimulated gene 6 blocks cumulus cell-oocyte complex expansion.

# publications[].label
A cell-counting factor regulating structure size in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
A Dictystelium mutant with defective aggregate size determination.

# publications[].label
The secreted proteome profile of developing Dictyostelium discoideum cells.

# publications[].label
Serum amyloid P: a systemic regulator of the innate immune response.

# publications[].label
A developmentally regulated cell surface receptor for a density-sensing factor in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
The secreted Dictyostelium protein CfaD is a chalone.

# publications[].label
Identification of markers that distinguish monocyte-derived fibrocytes from monocytes, macrophages, and fibroblasts.

# publications[].label
Cell cycle phase, cellular Ca2+ and development in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
High and low molecular weight hyaluronic acid differentially regulate human fibrocyte differentiation.

# publications[].label
Inhibition of murine fibrocyte differentiation by cross-linked IgG is dependent on FcRI.

# publications[].label
A secreted 80 x 10(3) Mr protein mediates sensing of cell density and the onset of development in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Attenuated Pulmonary Fibrosis in Sialidase-3 Knockout (Neu3(-/-)) Mice

# publications[].label
Fibroblasts secrete Slit2 to inhibit fibrocyte differentiation and fibrosis.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
A cell number-counting factor regulates levels of a novel protein, SslA, as part of a group size regulation mechanism in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Improved serum-free culture conditions for the differentiation of human and murine fibrocytes.

# publications[].label
Role of the neutrophil chemorepellent soluble dipeptidyl peptidase IV in decreasing inflammation in a murine model of arthritis.

# publications[].label
Partial genetic suppression of a loss-of-function mutant of the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis-associated protease TPP1 in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
Keck II spectroscopy of mHz quasiperiodic oscillations in Hercules X1

# publications[].label
Polyphosphate is an extracellular signal that can facilitate bacterial survival in eukaryotic cells.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
Initial cell-type choice in a simple eukaryote: cell-autonomous or morphogen-gradient dependent?

# publications[].label
Heat shock proteins are methylated in avian and mammalian cells.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
Serum Amyloid P Component Binds Fungal Surface Amyloid and Decreases Human Macrophage Phagocytosis and Secretion of Inflammatory Cytokines.

# publications[].label
A canine model for neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis highlights the promise of gene therapy for lysosomal storage diseases.

# publications[].label
Phenotypic changes induced by a mutated ras gene during the development of Dictyostelium transformants.

# publications[].label
A cysteine-rich extracellular protein containing a PA14 domain mediates quorum sensing in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
Aggregated IgG inhibits the differentiation of human fibrocytes.

# publications[].label
Dipeptidyl peptidase IV is a human and murine neutrophil chemorepellent.

# publications[].publisher
The American Association of Immunologists

# publications[].label
Skelemin, a cytoskeletal M-disc periphery protein, contains motifs of adhesion/recognition and intermediate filament proteins.

# publications[].label
Increasing specificity from the PCR-RACE technique.

# publications[].label
An Autocrine Negative Feedback Loop Inhibits Dictyostelium discoideum Proliferation through Pathways Including IP3/Ca2.

# publications[].label
Dietary NaCl affects bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in mice.

# publications[].label
A chemorepellent inhibits local Ras activation to inhibit pseudopod formation to bias cell movement away from the chemorepellent.

# publications[].publisher
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)

# publications[].label
Regulation of the Dictyostelium ras gene during development and in transformants.

# publications[].label
A retinoblastoma orthologue is required for the sensing of a chalone in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
TNF--stimulated fibroblasts secrete lumican to promote fibrocyte differentiation.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
Serum amyloid P inhibits granulocyte adhesion.

# publications[].label
Cell density sensing mediated by a G protein-coupled receptor activating phospholipase C.

# publications[].label
A Dictyostelium secreted factor requires a PTEN-like phosphatase to slow proliferation and induce chemorepulsion.

# publications[].label
A putative Ariadne-like ubiquitin ligase is required for Dictyostelium discoideum development.

# publications[].label
A brief exposure to tryptase or thrombin potentiates fibrocyte differentiation in the presence of serum or serum amyloid p.

# publications[].publisher
The American Association of Immunologists

# publications[].label
Differentiation of circulating monocytes into fibroblast-like cells.

# publications[].label
Extracellular Polyphosphate Promotes Macrophage and Fibrocyte Differentiation, Inhibits Leukocyte Proliferation, and Acts as a Chemotactic Agent for Neutrophils.

# publications[].publisher
The American Association of Immunologists

# publications[].label
A cell number-counting factor regulates the cytoskeleton and cell motility in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
Highly homologous filamin polypeptides have different distributions in avian slow and fast muscle fibers.

# publications[].label
Attenuated pulmonary fibrosis in sialidase-3 knockout (Neu3-/-) mice.

# publications[].label
Complexity of the Neurospora crassa circadian clock system: multiple loops and oscillators.

# publications[].label
Pirfenidone treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

# publications[].label
A cell number-counting factor regulates group size in Dictyostelium by differentially modulating cAMP-induced cAMP and cGMP pulse sizes.

# publications[].label
Extracellular Polyphosphate Inhibits Proliferation in an Autocrine Negative Feedback Loop in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
Regulation and processing of a secreted protein that mediates sensing of cell density in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
A protein with similarity to PTEN regulates aggregation territory size by decreasing cyclic AMP pulse size during Dictyostelium discoideum development.

# publications[].label
RtoA links initial cell type choice to the cell cycle in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Two components of a secreted cell number-counting factor bind to cells and have opposing effects on cAMP signal transduction in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
Cell dispersal by localized degradation of a chemoattractant.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
A deubiquitinating enzyme that disassembles free polyubiquitin chains is required for development but not growth in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
On the location of the oscillations in AE Aquarii

# publications[].label
Characterization of the signal transduction pathways and cis-acting DNA sequence responsible for the transcriptional induction during growth and development of the lysosomal alpha-mannosidase gene in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
Trypsin, Tryptase, and Thrombin Polarize Macrophages towards a Pro-Fibrotic M2a Phenotype.

# publications[].label
The ROCO kinase QkgA is necessary for proliferation inhibition by autocrine signals in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
A 60-kilodalton protein component of the counting factor complex regulates group size in Dictyostelium discoideum.

# publications[].label
Changes in lung sialidases in male and female mice after bleomycin aspiration.

# publications[].label
C-reactive protein (CRP) but not the related pentraxins serum amyloid P and PTX3 inhibits the proliferation and induces apoptosis of the leukemia cell line Mono Mac 6.

# publications[].label
Regulatory Pathways of Fibrocyte Development

# publications[].label
A cell-cycle phase-associated cell-type choice mechanism monitors the cell cycle rather than using an independent timer.

# publications[].label
Gene identification by shotgun antisense.

# publications[].label
Cells respond to and bind countin, a component of a multisubunit cell number counting factor.

# publications[].label
Monocyte differentiation and macrophage priming are regulated differentially by pentraxins and their ligands.

# publications[].label
The secreted Dictyostelium protein CfaD is a chalone

# publications[].label
Growing and starving Dictyostelium cells produce distinct density-sensing factors.

# publications[].label
Distinct Fc receptors mediate the effect of serum amyloid p on neutrophil adhesion and fibrocyte differentiation.

# publications[].publisher
The American Association of Immunologists

# publications[].label
A Dictyostelium chalone uses G proteins to regulate proliferation.

# publications[].label
An endogenous chemorepellent directs cell movement by inhibiting pseudopods at one side of cells.

# publications[].publisher
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)

# publications[].label
A cell number counting factor regulates Akt/protein kinase B to regulate Dictyostelium discoideum group size.

# publications[].label
Cell density sensing and size determination.

# publications[].label
A putative receptor mediating cell-density sensing in Dictyostelium.

# publications[].label
The synthesis and deployment of filamin in chicken skeletal muscle.

# publications[].label
The different components of a multisubunit cell number-counting factor have both unique and overlapping functions.

# publications[].label
Sex-Based Differences in Human Neutrophil Chemorepulsion.

# publications[].publisher
The American Association of Immunologists

# publications[].label
Fibrocytes in the Tumor Microenvironment.

# publications[].label
Alternative origins of stroma in normal organs and disease.

# publications[].label
Intercellular signalling. Knowing that you're among friends.

# publications[].label
Bone marrow-derived fibroblast precursors mediate ischemic cardiomyopathy in mice.

# publications[].publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

# publications[].label
The extracellular sialidase NEU3 primes neutrophils.

# publications[].label
Sialidase Inhibitors Attenuate Pulmonary Fibrosis in a Mouse Model

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institutes of Health - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.preferredLabel
DHHS-NIH-National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

# researcherOn[].label
Elucidation of a Eukaryotic Chemorepulsion Mechanism

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institutes of Health - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.preferredLabel
DHHS-NIH-National Institute of General Medical Science

# researcherOn[].label
Breaking a Novel Feedback Loop to Inhibit Fibrosis

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institutes of Health - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.preferredLabel
DHHS-NIH-National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institutes of Health - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# researcherOn[].awardedBy.label
National Institutes of Health - (Bethesda, Maryland, United States)

# streetAddress
Texas A&M University; Biology; 301 Old Main Drive

# inTheNews[].label
Seven Texas A&M Faculty Members Awarded With University Distinguished Professorships

# etdChairOf[].label
Xiang, Wang (2018-08). Inhibiting Serum Amyloid P - Fc?R1 Interactions on Human Macrophages Decreases Numbers of Intracellular Mycobacteria. Master's Thesis.

# etdChairOf[].label
White, Michael (2015-06). Linking Fibrosis and Cancer through the Differentiation of Fibrocytes. Doctoral Dissertation.

# etdChairOf[].label
Suess, Patrick Michael (2018-05). Insight into an Ancient and Enigmatic Molecule Using Dictyostelium discoideum. Doctoral Dissertation.

# etdChairOf[].label
Cox, Nehemiah (2015-05). Regulation of Innate Immune Responses and Fibrosis by Serum Amyloid P. Doctoral Dissertation.

# etdChairOf[].label
Herlihy, Sarah E (2014-06). Linking Two Seemingly Unrelated Diseases, Cancer and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Through a Dictyostelium Secreted Protein. Doctoral Dissertation.