Amal Amer, MD, PhD

Current OSU Appointments

Associate Professor, SBS-Microbial Infectn/Immunity

Associate Professor, Pulm,Allergy,Crit Care & Sleep

Advising Narrative

His work in my laboratory granted him co-authorship on a paper that was published in PloS Pathogens (impact factor 9.5) and she got accepted to medical school like he wanted. Her work in my laboratory granted her co-authorship on a paper that was published in Plod Pathogens (impact factor 9.5) and she got accepted to nursing school like she wanted. Recipient of The Landacre Honor Society Award. Her work in my laboratory granted her co-authorship on a paper that was published in PloS Pathogens (impact factor 9.5) His work in my laboratory granted him co-authorship on a paper that was published in Journal of Biological Chemistry (impact factor 7.2) and he is applying to medical schools. Dean's List

Edited Books

"Pulmonary Infections." Edited by Amer, A, O. Rijeka, HR|HRV: InTechOpen Access Publisher, January 2011.

Journal Articles

Amer, A, O; Valvano, M A. "The N-terminal region of the Escherichia coli WecA (Rfe) protein, containing three predicted transmembrane helices, is required for function but not for membrane insertion.." Journal of Bacteriology. Vol. 182, no. 2. (January 2000.): 498-503.

Amer, A, O; Valvano, M A. "Conserved amino acid residues found in a predicted cytosolic domain of the lipopolysaccharide biosynthetic protein WecA are implicated in the recognition of UDP-N-acetylglucosamine.." Microbiology. Vol. 147, no. Pt 11. (February 2001.): 3015-25.

Amer, Amal, O; Valvano, Miguel A. "Conserved aspartic acids are essential for the enzymic activity of the WecA protein initiating the biosynthesis of O-specific lipopolysaccharide and enterobacterial common antigen in Escherichia coli.." Microbiology. Vol. 148, no. Pt 2. (February 2002.): 571-82.

Journal appointed reviewers. "A phagosome of one's own: a microbial guide to life in the macrophage." Vol. 5, no. 1. (January 2002.): -.

Amer, Amal, O; Swanson, Michele S. "Autophagy is an immediate macrophage response to Legionella pneumophila.." Cellular Microbiology. Vol. 7, no. 6. (January 2005.): 765-78.

Amer, Amal, O; Byrne, Brenda, G; Swanson, Michele S. "Macrophages rapidly transfer pathogens from lipid raft vacuoles to autophagosomes.." Autophagy. Vol. 1, no. 1. (January 2005.): 53-8.

Franchi, Luigi; McDonald, Christine; Kanneganti, Thirumala-Devi; Amer, Amal; Nunez, Gabriel. "Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors: intracellular pattern recognition molecules for pathogen detection and host defense.." Journal of Immunology.. Vol. 177, no. 6. (January 2006.): 3507-13.

Franchi, Luigi; Amer, Amal; Body-Malapel, Mathilde; Kanneganti, Thirumala-Devi; Ozoren, Nesrin; Jagirdar, Rajesh; Inohara, Naohiro; Vandenabeele, Peter; Bertin, John; Coyle, Anthony; Grant, Ethan, P; Nunez, Gabriel. "Cytosolic flagellin requires Ipaf for activation of caspase-1 and interleukin 1beta in salmonella-infected macrophages.." Nature Immunology. Vol. 7, no. 6. (January 2006.): 576-82.

Kanneganti, Thirumala-Devi; Ozoren, Nesrin; Body-Malapel, Mathilde; Amer, Amal; Park, Jong-Hwan; Franchi, Luigi; Whitfield, Joel; Barchet, Winfried; Colonna, Marco; Vandenabeele, Peter; Bertin, John; Coyle, Anthony; Grant, Ethan, P; Akira, Shizuo; Nunez, Gabriel. "Bacterial RNA and small antiviral compounds activate caspase-1 through cryopyrin/Nalp3.." Nature. Vol. 440, no. 7081. (January 2006.): 233-6.

Kanneganti, Thirumala-Devi; Body-Malapel, Mathilde; Amer, Amal; Park, Jong-Hwan; Whitfield, Joel; Franchi, Luigi; Taraporewala, Zenobia, F; Miller, David; Patton, John, T; Inohara, Naohiro; Nunez, Gabriel. "Critical role for Cryopyrin/Nalp3 in activation of caspase-1 in response to viral infection and double-stranded RNA.." The Journal of Biological Chemistry. Vol. 281, no. 48. (January 2006.): 36560-8.

Amer, Amal; Franchi, Luigi; Kanneganti, Thirumala-Devi; Body-Malapel, Mathilde; Ozoren, Nesrin; Brady, Graham; Meshinchi, Sasha; Jagirdar, Rajesh; Gewirtz, Andrew; Akira, Shizuo; Nunez, Gabriel. "Regulation of Legionella phagosome maturation and infection through flagellin and host Ipaf.." The Journal of Biological Chemistry. Vol. 281, no. 46. (January 2006.): 35217-23.

Journal appointed reviewers. "Lung infections and innate host defense." Vol. 2, no. 4. (January 2007.): -.

Lamkanfi M; Amer A; Kanneganti TD; Muñoz-Planillo R; Chen G; Vandenabeele P; Fortier A; Gros P; Núñez G. "The Nod-like receptor family member Naip5/Birc1e restricts Legionella pneumophila growth independently of caspase-1 activation.." Journal of Immunology.. Vol. 178, no. 12. (June 2007.): 8022-.

Thomas J. Cremer; Amal Amer; Susheela Tridandapani and Jonathan P. Butchar.. "Francisella tularensis regulates autophagy-related host cell signaling pathways.." Autophagy. Vol. 5, no. 1. (January 2008.): 125-128.

Rajaram MV; Butchar JP; Parsa KV; Cremer TJ; Amer A; Schlesinger LS; Tridandapani S. "Akt and SHIP modulate Francisella escape from the phagosome and induction of the Fas-mediated death pathway.." Plos One. Vol. 4, no. 11. (January 2009.): e7919-.

Journal appointed reviewers. Vol. 12, (January 2009.): 140-147.

Akhter A.; Mikhail A. Gavrilin; Frantz L.; Washington S.; Ditty C.; Limoli D.; Day C.; Sarkar A.; Newland C.; Butchar J.; Marsh C.B.; Wewers M.D.; Tridandapani S.; Kanneganti T.D. & A. O. Amer. "Caspase-7 activation by the Ipaf inflammasome restricts Legionella pneumophila infection.." PLoS Pathogens. Vol. 5, no. 4. (April 2009.): -.

Cremer, TJ, Ravneberg DH, Clay CD, Piper-Hunter, MG, Marsh, CB, Elton TS, Gunn JS, Amer A, Kanneganti TD, Schlesinger LS, Butchar JP, Tridandapani S. "MiR-155 induction by Francisella novicida but not the virulent F. tularensis results in SHIP down-regulation and enhanced pro-inflammatory cytokine response." PloS One. Vol. 4, no. 12. (December 2009.): e8508-.

Amer, A, O. "Modulation of caspases and their non-apoptotic functions by Legionella pneumophila.." Cellular Microbiology. Vol. 12, no. 2. (February 2010.): -.

Abdelaziz, D. H.; Amr, K.; Amer, A. O.. "Nlrc4/Ipaf/CLAN/CARD 12: more than a flagellin sensor." International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Vol. 12, no. 2. (June 2010.): 140-147.

Journal appointer reviewers. "Replication of Legionella in human cells. Why are we susceptible?." Vol. 1, no. 133. (December 2010.): -.

Butchar JP, Mehta P, Justiniano SE, Guenterberg KD, Kondadasula SV, Mo X, Chemudupati M, Kanneganti TD, Amer A, Muthusamy N, Jarjoura D, Marsh CB, Carson WE III, Byrd JC, Tridandapani, S. "Reciprocal regulation of activating and inhibitory Fc(gamma) receptors by TLR7/8 activation: implications for tumor immunotherapy." Clinical Cancer Research. Vol. 16, no. 7. (March 2010.): 2065-2075.

Brooks MN; Rajaram MV; Azad AK; Amer AO; Valdivia-Arenas MA; Park JH; Nunez G; Schlesinger LS. "NOD2 controls the nature of the inflammatory response and subsequent fate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. Bovis BCG in human macrophages." Cellular Microbiology. Vol. 13, no. 3. (March 2010.): -.

Lamkanfi, M.; Sarkar, A.; Vitari, A. C.; Amer, A. O.; Wewers, M. D.; Tracey, K. J.; Kanneganti, T-D.; Dixit, V. M.. "Inflammasome-dependent release of the alarmin HMGB1 in endotoxemia." Journal of Immunology. Vol. 185, no. 7. (August 2010.): -.

Kotrange, S.; Kopp, B.; Akhter, A.; Hussein, D.; Khweek, A. A.; Caution, K.; Bedi, S.; Abdulrahman, B.; Wewers, M. D.; McCoy, K.; Valvano, M.; Amer, A. O. "Burkholderia cenocepacia O-polysaccharide chain is required for caspase-1-independent IL-1beta production in macrophages." Journal of Leukocyte Biology. Vol. 98, no. 3. (December 2011.): -.

Dalia H. Abdelaziz; Mikhail A. Gavrilin; Anwari Akhter; Kyle Caution; Sheetal Kotrange; Arwa Abu Khweek; Basant A. Abdulrahman; Zeinab A. Hassan; Jaykumar Grandhi; Clay Marsh; Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti; Mark D. Wewers and Amer A.. "ASC controls Legionella pneumophila infection in human monocytes." The Journal of Biological Chemistry. Vol. 286, no. 4. (February 2011.): -.

Amer, A, O. "The Inflammasome." Frontiers in Microbiology. Vol. 2, no. 4. (January 2011.): -.

Dalia H. Abdelaziz; Mikhail A. Gavrilin; Anwari Akhter; Kyle Caution; Sheetal Kotrange; Arwa Abu Khweek; Basant A. Abdulrahman; Zeinab A. Hassan; Clay Marsh; Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti; Mark D. Wewers and Amer, Amal, O. "ASC is required for caspase-1 activation in murine macrophages.." Frontiers Cellular and Infection Microbiology.. Vol. 2, no. 18. (February 2011.): -.

Paras K. Anand; Stephen W.G. Tait; Mohamed Lamkanfi; Amer A; Douglas R. Green and Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti.. "TLR2 and Nod/Rip2 Cascade Mediate Autophagy Against Listeria monocytogenes via ERK activation.." Journal of Biological Chemistry. in press. (October 2011.): -.

Journal appointed reviewers. "Cell Intrinsic Roles of Apoptosis-AssociatedSpeck-Like Protein in Regulating Innate and AdaptiveImmune Responses." no. 11. (October 2011.): 2418-2423.

Basant A. Abdulrahman; Arwa Abu Khweek; Anwari Akhter; Kyle Caution; Sheetal Kotrange; Dalia H.A. Abdelaziz; Christie Newland; Roberto Rosales-Reyes; Benjamin Kopp; Karen McCoy; Richard Montione; Larry Schlesinger; Mikhail Gavrilin; Mark D. Wewers; Miguel A. Valvano; and Amer A.. "Rapamycin rescues cystic fibrosis lungs from Burkholderia cenocepacia infection and inflammation." Autophagy Journal. Vol. 7, no. 11. (November 2011.): -.

Akhter,Anwari; Caution,Kyle; Abu Khweek,Arwa; Tazi,Mia; Abdulrahman,Basant,A; Abdelaziz,Dalia,HA; Voss,Oliver,H; Doseff,Andrea,I; Hassan,Hoda; Azad,Abul,K; Schlesinger,Larry,S; Wewers,Mark,D; Gavrilin,Mikhail,A; Amer,Amal,O. "Caspase-11 promotes the fusion of phagosomes harboring pathogenic bacteria with lysosomes by modulating actin polymerization.." Immunity. Vol. 37, no. 1. (July 2012.): 35-47.

Mikhail A. Gavrilin, Dalia H.A. Abdelaziz, Mahmoud Mostafa, Basant A. Abdulrahman, Jaykumar Grandhi, Anwari Akhter, Arwa Abu Khweek, Daniel Aubert, Miguel A. Valvano, Mark D. Wewers and Amal O. Amer. "Activation of the Pyrin Inflammasome by IntracellularBurkholderia cenocepacia." Journal of Immunology. Vol. in press, (March 2012.): -.

Inventions and Patents

Amal Amer, or Amal O. Amer. "Cystic Fibrosis Foundation 3rd year Fellowship Grant."

Amal Amer, or Amal O. Amer. "Autophagy stimulation can control Burkholderia cepacia infection."

Presentations

"National study on the effect of pesticides on pesticide formulators in Egypt." Presented at The International Development Center's Project IDRC, Cairo, EG|EGY. (January 1990)

"Differential Diagnosis in heomoglobinopathies." Presented at Heomoglobinopathies in Saudi Arabia, Ryaddh, SA|SAU. (January 1993)

"Topological map of the Rfe (WecA) protein involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis and its functional characterization." Presented at Canadian Society of Microbiologists Annual Meeting, Guelph, ON, CA|CAN. (January 1998)

"Epitope fusion vector for the characterization of the WecA (Rfe) protein involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis." Presented at American Society for Microbiology 99th General Meeting, Chicago, IL, US|USA. (January 1999)

"Structure function analysis of the WecA protein in Escherichia coli." Presented at American Society for Microbiology 100th General Meeting, LA, CA, US|USA. (January 2000)

"Structure-Function of WecA protein involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis." Presented at Wayne State University Center for Human Genetics, Detroit, MI, US|USA. (January 2001)

"Structure-Function of WecA protein involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis." Presented at Canadian Society of Microbiologists 51st Annual Meeting, ON, CA|CAN. (January 2001)

"Autophagy is an immediate macrophage response to infection by Legionella pneumophila." Presented at The American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, US|USA. (January 2002)

"Autophagy is an immediate macrophage response to Legionella pneumophila infection." Presented at Gordon Research Conference, Waterville, ME, US|USA. (January 2003)

"Lipid raft invasion by uropathogenic Escherichia coli or Legionella pneumophila triggers the macrophage autophagy machinery." Presented at American Society for Microbiology 104th General Meeting, New Orleans, LA, US|USA. (January 2004)

"Lipid raft invasion by pathogens triggers the macrophage autophagy machinery." Presented at Gordon Research Conference, Andover, MA, US|USA. (January 2004)

"Lipid raft invasion by pathogens triggers the macrophage autophagy machinery." Presented at Japan Society for Cell Biology 57th Annual Meeting, Osaka, JP|JPN. (January 2004)

"Lipid raft invasion by uropathogenic Escherichia coli or Legionella pneumophila triggers the macrophage autophagy machinery." Presented at Wayne State University Department Microbiology and Immunology, Detroit, MI, US|USA. (January 2004)

"Lipid raft invasion by pathogens triggers the macrophage autophagy machinery." Presented at University of Michigan Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, US|USA. (January 2004)

"How caspases dictate the fate of the intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila.." Presented at 2nd Annual Center for Microbial Interface Biology Retreat, Columbus, OH, US|USA. (January 2007)

"The role of caspases in Legionella pneumophila infections.." Presented at Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Louisville, KY, US|USA. (January 2008)

"How caspases regulate the survival of intracellular pathogens.." Presented at Immunology Seminar Series, Columbus, OH, US|USA. (January 2008)

"Caspase activation does not always mean cell death." Presented at Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine 3rd Annual Research Day., Columbus, OH. (January 2008)

"Caspase activation does not always mean cell death." Presented at Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine 3rd Annual Research Day, Columbus, OH, US|USA. (January 2008)

"The role of the inflammasome in Burkholderia cepacia infection.." Presented at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH, US|USA. (January 2009)

"The role of caspases in Legionella pneumophila infection." Presented at Legionella 2009, Paris, FR|FRA. (January 2009)

"Legionella pneumophila: the atypical pulmonary pathogen.." Presented at Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine 4th Annual Research Day., Columbus, OH, US|USA. (January 2009)

"How the inflammasome restricts pulmonary infections." Presented at Dorothy Heart and Lung Research Institute (DHLRI) Reasearch in Progress Seminar Series, Columbus, OH, US|USA. (January 2009)

"How caspase-7 controls intracellular infection in macrophages." Presented at 96th Annual Meeting of The American Association of Immunologists, Seattle, WA, US|USA. (January 2009)

"The role of the inflammasome in Burkholderia cepacia infection.." Presented at Nationwide Children’s Hospital Seminars, Columbus, OH, US|USA. (January 2011)

"Legionella pneumophila modulates the expression of the inflammasome members to establish infection in human monocytes." Presented at The 45th Annual Scientific Meeting of the European Society for Clinical Investigations, Crete, GR|GRC. (January 2011)

"Burkholderia cenocepacia O polysaccharide chain contributes to caspase-1-dependent IL-1B production in macrophages: Host defense mechanisms against bacterial respiratory infections." Presented at ATS International Conference, Denver, CO, US|USA. (January 2011)

"A novel use of Rapamycin in cystic fibrosis patients infected with Burkholderia cepacia.." Presented at Dorothy Heart and Lung Research Institute Reasearch in Progress Series., Columbus, OH, US|USA. (January 2011)