Louise Rollins-Smith
Immunology researcher
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Louise Rollins-Smith is a professor of biological sciences, professor of pediatrics, and a professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology at Vanderbilt University. She is known for her work investigating host-pathogen interactions using amphibians as model organisms.
Louise Rollins-Smith | |
|---|---|
| Education | Hamline University, University of Minnesota |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Immunology, Amphibians, Antimicrobial peptides |
| Workplaces | Vanderbilt University |
| Thesis | (1977) |
Education and career
Rollins-Smith received her Bachelor's degree in Biology at Hamline University, Saint Paul, Minnesota, before completing a Masters and a Ph.D. in zoology at the University of Minnesota in 1977.[1] Rollins-Smith was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Rochester before joining Vanderbilt University in 1984.[2]
Research
Rollins-Smith has studied disease and immunity in amphibians. Her early research was focused upon Lucké renal adenocarcinoma of leopard frogs,[3][4] the development of immunological tolerance and immune changes at metamorphosis in frogs.[5] Rollins-Smith has also studied the effects of immunotoxic and agricultural chemicals on amphibian immunity.[6][7] Rollins-Smith's research has examined the link between widespread amphibian declines and the amphibian chytrid fungi, Bactrochochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal),[8] particularly in relation to amphibian immunity.[9][10] Rollins-Smith has also become known for her work on amphibian skin antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Alongside her colleagues, she has provided evidence that the effectiveness of AMPs is a valuable predictor of amphibian species susceptibility to the Bd,[11] and that AMPs are potent inhibitors of viral infection, including HIV infection of human T lymphocytes.[12]
Selected publications
- Carey, Cynthia; Cohen, Nicholas; Rollins-Smith, Louise (1999-09-01). "Amphibian declines: an immunological perspective". Developmental & Comparative Immunology. 23 (6): 459–472. doi:10.1016/S0145-305X(99)00028-2. ISSN 0145-305X. PMID 10512457.
- Rollins-Smith, Louise A. (1998). "Metamorphosis and the amphibian immune system". Immunological Reviews. 166 (1): 221–230. doi:10.1111/j.1600-065X.1998.tb01265.x. ISSN 1600-065X. PMID 9914915.
- Woodhams, D. C.; Ardipradja, K.; Alford, R. A.; Marantelli, G.; Reinert, L. K.; Rollins-Smith, L. A. (2007). "Resistance to chytridiomycosis varies among amphibian species and is correlated with skin peptide defenses". Animal Conservation. 10 (4): 409–417. Bibcode:2007AnCon..10..409W. doi:10.1111/j.1469-1795.2007.00130.x. ISSN 1367-9430.
- Rollins-Smith, Louise A. (2009-08-01). "The role of amphibian antimicrobial peptides in protection of amphibians from pathogens linked to global amphibian declines". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes. 1788 (8): 1593–1599. doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2009.03.008. ISSN 0005-2736. PMID 19327341.
- Ramsey, Jeremy P.; Reinert, Laura K.; Harper, Laura K.; Woodhams, Douglas C.; Rollins-Smith, Louise A. (2010). "Immune Defenses against Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a Fungus Linked to Global Amphibian Declines, in the South African Clawed Frog, Xenopus laevis". Infection and Immunity. 78 (9): 3981–3992. doi:10.1128/iai.00402-10. PMC 2937463. PMID 20584973.
Honors and awards
Rollins-Smith was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015.[13]