Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle):

Steiner, Karl V.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Provide the following information for the Senior/key personnel and other significant contributors in the order listed on Form Page 2.
Follow this format for each person. DO NOT EXCEED FOUR PAGES.
NAME

POSITION TITLE

McDowell, John Vincent

Instructor, Delaware Technical Community College

eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login)

JVMCDOWE
EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, such as nursing, include postdoctoral training and
residency training if applicable.)
DEGREE
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION
MM/YY
FIELD OF STUDY
(if applicable)

University of Delaware, Newark, DE

BS in Ag.

06/98

Animal Science

Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Richmond, VA

PhD

07/03

Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Richmond, VA

Post-Doc.
Assoc.

07/03-08/12

Microbiology and
Immunology
Microbiology and
Immunology

A. Personal Statement
I will serve as the Delaware Technical Community College co-director of the Bioinformatics Core and will have
specific responsibilities for aims associated with this core. I am a faculty member in the Department of Biology
and Chemistry, where I am assisting in undergraduate research projects both imbedding in courses and
extracurricular. Previously, I was a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Microbiology and
Immunology at Virginia Commonwealth University investigating the molecular pathogenesis of Lyme disease
and periodontal disease.
The importance and utility of bioinformatics has increased rapidly over the past decade. The need to prepare
students and new scientists to take advantage of these resources is a major goal. I have been able to utilize
this new area of information as I oversaw research projects which allowed for the determination of the identity
of a novel virulence factor of Treponema denticola, a key contributor of periodontal disease, by utilizing
genomic sequence data and other bioinformatic tools. This led to the determination of the structure of the FhbB
protein by X-ray crystallography and mapping of key molecular biding sites and comparing data with several
other functionally, but not structurally or sequentially, related bacterial proteins.
B. Positions and Honors
Positions
12003-2012

Post-doctoral Researcher, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richard T. Marconi (PI); Analysis

of interaction of pathogenic spirochetes and human complement regulators
2012-present Delaware Technical Community College, Instructor Department of Biology and Chemistry
Honors
1994-1998
1999-2003
2000-2001
2001-2003
2002

Carvel State Scholarship, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Delaware
Award of Excellence student, VCU
NIH training grant recipient, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, MCV Campus of
VCU. T32 AI07617
F31 Undergraduate Individual Research Service Award, NINDS, NIH. F31 NS43088
Mary P. Coleman Award, Department of Microbiology and Immunology Award for Distinguished
Student Leadership and Graduate Performance, VCU

PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 06/09)

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Biographical Sketch Format Page

Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle):

22003-2005

Steiner, Karl V.

NIH postdoctoral training grant, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, MCV Campus of
VCU. T32 AI07617

C. Selected Peer-reviewed Publications (of 24)

1. Miller DP, McDowell JV, Rhodes DV, Allard A, Caimano M, Bell JK, Marconi RT. Sequence divergence in
the Treponema denticola FhbB protein and its impact on factor H binding. Mol Oral Microbiol. 2013 Feb 28.
PubMed PMID: 23601078.
2. Miller DP, Bell JK, McDowell JV, Conrad DH, Burgner JW, Hroux A, Marconi RT. Structure of factor Hbinding protein B (FhbB) of the periopathogen, Treponema denticola: insights into progression of
periodontal disease. J Biol Chem. 2012. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3339992.
3. Marconi RT, McDowell JV. Tick salivary proteins offer the lyme disease spirochetes an easy ride and
another way to hide. Cell Host Microbe. 2011. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3179856.
4. Frederick JR, Sarkar J, McDowell JV, Marconi RT. Molecular signaling mechanisms of the
periopathogen,Treponema denticola. J Dent Res. 2011 (Review) PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3173007.
5. McDowell JV, Frederick J, Miller DP, Goetting-Minesky MP, Goodman H, Fenno JC, Marconi RT.
Identification of the primary mechanism of complement evasion by the periodontal pathogen, Treponema
denticola. Mol Oral Microbiol. 2011.PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3053026.
6. McDowell JV, Huang B, Fenno JC, Marconi RT. Analysis of a unique interaction between the complement
regulatory protein factor H and the periodontal pathogen Treponema denticola. Infect Immun. 2009.
PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2663137.
7. McDowell JV, Frederick J, Stamm L, Marconi RT. Identification of the gene encoding the FhbB protein of
Treponema denticola, a highly unique factor H-like protein 1 binding protein. Infect Immun. 2007.
PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1828522.
8. McDowell JV, Hovis KM, Zhang H, Tran E, Lankford J, Marconi RT. Evidence that the BBA68 protein
(BbCRASP-1) of the Lyme disease spirochetes does not contribute to factor H-mediated immune evasion
in humans and other animals. Infect Immun. 2006. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1459725.
9. Hovis KM, Tran E, Sundy CM, Buckles E, McDowell JV, Marconi RT. Selective binding of Borrelia
burgdorferi OspE paralogs to factor H and serum proteins from diverse animals: possible expansion of the
role of OspE in Lyme disease pathogenesis. Infect Immun. 2006. Central PMCID: PMC1418677.
10. McDowell JV, Lankford J, Stamm L, Sadlon T, Gordon DL, Marconi RT. Demonstration of factor H-like
protein 1 binding to Treponema denticola, a pathogen associated with periodontal disease in humans.
Infect Immun. 2005. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1273895.
11. McDowell JV, Harlin ME, Rogers EA, Marconi RT. Putative coiled-coil structural elements of the BBA68
protein of Lyme disease spirochetes are required for formation of its factor H binding site. J Bacteriol. 2005.
PubMed Central PMCID: PMC545637.
12. McDowell JV, Wolfgang J, Senty L, Sundy CM, Noto MJ, Marconi RT. Demonstration of the involvement of
outer surface protein E coiled coil structural domains and higher order structural elements in the binding of
infection-induced antibody and the complement-regulatory protein, factor H. J Immunol. 2004. PMID:
15585873.
13. Hovis KM, McDowell JV, Griffin L, Marconi RT. Identification and characterization of a linear-plasmidencoded factor H-binding protein (FhbA) of the relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia hermsii. J Bacteriol.
2004. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC387808.
14. McDowell JV, Tran E, Hamilton D, Wolfgang J, Miller K, Marconi RT. Analysis of the ability of spirochete
species associated with relapsing fever, avian borreliosis, and epizootic bovine abortion to bind factor H
and cleave c3b. J Clin Microbiol. 2003. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC179811.
15. McDowell JV, Sung SY, Hu LT, Marconi RT. Evidence that the variable regions of the central domain of
VlsE are antigenic during infection with lyme disease spirochetes. Infect Immun. 2002. PubMed
Central PMCID: PMC128138.
D. Research Support
DE EPSCoR Seed Grant
PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 06/09)

May 2013 August 2013

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