Melody Neely
Education
- Postdoctoral Washington University School of Medicine 1999 – 2001
- Ph.D. University of Michigan School of Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology 1998
- B.S. Eastern Michigan University, Biology 1994
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Research:
The more I learn about the multitude of mechanisms for causing disease that pathogens have acquired during their co-evolution with humans, the more fascinated I become with infectious disease research. What has become increasingly clear in working with my own pathogen of choice, streptococcus, is that the bacteria have not only adapted to the human immune system, but found ways in which to both circumvent and exploit our defense mechanisms to secure their own survival. Because of this dynamic interplay between the human immune system and the infecting organism, infectious disease research requires that you not only have a good understanding of the invading pathogen, but that you also have a thorough knowledge of how the immune system responds to and defends itself from such an attack.
The long-range goal of the Neely laboratory is to identify key factors of both the host and the pathogen that lead to activation of virulence mechanisms and contribute to specific disease states during streptococcal infection. We accomplish this using a zebrafish (Danio rerio) infectious disease model. Using Streptococcus iniaeand Streptococcus agalactiae, natural pathogens of both fish and humans, we analyze specific virulence mechanisms used by systemic streptococcal pathogens to cause disease. Using Streptococcus pyogenes we model the infection dynamics that occur during the necrotic invasive infections of cellulitis, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis that occur in humans. The clinical pathologies that we observe in the zebrafish infections are identical to those reported in human disease. Zebrafish have both an innate and adaptive immune system with the full repertoire of immune and inflammatory cells found in mammalian systems. Because of the immunological similarities of the zebrafish model to mammalian systems, we can address questions directly related to host-pathogen interactions during streptococcal infection and the influence on infection dynamics. Furthermore, identifying the underlying virulence mechanisms used by a pathogen that has the same modus operandi as other potent human pathogens, (i.e. invasion, sepsis, and evasion of the host immune system) provides valuable insight into how other pathogens cause disease by identifying common virulence strategies. Through collaborations we have expanded our pathogen analysis in the zebrafish model using P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, V. cholera and S. mutans to name a few.
Selected Publications:
M.N. Neely. The zebrafish as a model for human bacterial infections. Methods Mol Biol. 1535:245-266. 2017
Rowe, H.M., B.R. Hanson, D.L. Runft, Q. Lin, S.M. Firestine and M.N.Neely. Modification of the CpsA protein reveals a role in alteration of the Streptococcus agalactiae cell envelope. Infection & Immunity. 83(4):1497-1506. 2015.
Rowe, H.M., J. H. Withey and M. N. Neely. Zebrafish as a model for aquatic zoonotic pathogens. Developmental and Comparative Immunology. 46(1):96-107. 2014
Runft, D.L., K.C. Mitchell, B.H. Abuaita, J.P. Allen, S. Bajer, K. Ginsburg, M.N. Neely and J.H. Withey. Zebrafish as a natural host model for Vibrio cholerae colonization and transmission. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 80(5):1710-1717. 2014.
Namprachan-Frantz, P., H.M. Rowe, D.L. Runft and M.N. Neely, Transcriptional analysis of the Streptococcus pyogenes salivaricin locus. Journal of Bacteriology 196(3):604-613. 2014.
Harvie, A.E., M.N. Neely and A. Huttenlocher. Innate Immune response to Streptococcus iniae infection in zebrafish. Infection & Immunity. 81(1):110-121. 2013.
Allen, J.P. and M.N. Neely. CpsY-dependent protection form neutrophil-mediated killing involves modification and stabilization of the Streptococcus iniae cell wall. Infection & Immunity, 80(5):1707-1715. 2012.
Hanson, B.R. and M.N. Neely. Coordinate regulation of Gram-positive cell surface components. Current Opinion in Microbiology, 15:204-210. 2012.
Hanson, B.R., D.L. Runft, C. Streeter, A. Kumar, T.W. Carion and M. N. Neely. Functional analysis of the CpsA protein of Streptococcus agalactiae. Journal of Bacteriology, 194(7):1668-1678. 2012.
Allen, J.P. and M. N. Neely. The Streptococcus iniae transcriptional regulator CpsY is required for protection from neutrophil-mediated killing and proper growth in vitro. Infection & Immunity, 79:4638-48. 2011.
