Congratulations to Dr. Brittany Shapiro for defending her Ph.D. dissertation yesterday! She presented her project titled “Borreliella burgdorferi BosR-mediated post-transcriptional regulation”. Brittany’s work has resulted in two publications to date and numerous awards. Exceptional job, Brittany!

Congratulations to former Skare lab undergraduate research students Kristina Pham (second from the left) and Hannah Homeyer (far right) for their recent acceptance into medical school! We are all very proud of you!

The four who have participated in every Biology of Spirochetes Gordon Conference, which began in 1994

2026 Biology of Spirochetes Gordon Conference wrapped up. Photo of the 4 of us who have attended every Spirochete GRC, which began in 1994. A long, strange trip so far, and may we continue to solve many more mysteries!
Scott, Jon, me, and Wolf
@therealjskare.bsky.social
@wolfzueckert.bsky.social

Attendees of the first Biology of Spirochetes GRC in 1994, who were also at the recent conference

The Originals.
Attendees of last weeks Spirochete GRC who were also at the first edition in 1994 (noting at least 2 people who missed the photo)
@wolfzueckert.bsky.social
@therealjskare.bsky.social

VERY proud that Brittany Shapiro, a Ph.D. student in the Skare lab, is a Gramm Fellowship awardee! This award recognizes outstanding teaching and research by select Texas A&M graduate students. Congratulations to Brittany for this well-deserved honor!

BBK32 attenuates antibody-dependent complement-mediated killing of infectious Borreliella burgdorferi isolates Author summary Lyme disease, caused by Borreliella burgdorferi and other related species, is the most common arthropod-borne infection in the United States. As an extracellular pathogen, B. burgdorfer...

Excited to share our recent publication in PLoS Pathogens! Congratulations to Alex Powell-Pierce, Brittany Shapiro, Payton Smith, and Shannon Allen from my group—as well Brandon Garcia’s lab—for their commitment and hard work on this paper!

journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

BBK32 attenuates antibody-dependent complement-mediated killing of infectious Borreliella burgdorferi isolates by Alexandra D. Powell-Pierce, Charles E. Booth, Payton G. Smith, Brittany L. Shapiro, Shannon S. Allen, Brandon L. Garcia, Jon T. Skare Borreliella burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, has evolved unique complement evasion proteins that promote its ability to establish and maintain infection in mammalian hosts. Among these is B. burgdorferi BBK32, a multifunctional surface lipoprotein that binds extracellular matrix (ECM) components, including fibronectin (Fn). In addition to its ECM-binding functions, BBK32 binds to C1r, the initiator protease of the classical pathway of complement, and protects B. burgdorferi from complement-mediated killing following exposure to normal human serum. The disparate functions of BBK32 in adhesion and complement evasion have previously been studied in isolation. Herein we demonstrate that full-length BBK32 binds both Fn and C1 concurrently, indicating that binding of these macromolecules do not sterically hinder their simultaneous interaction. Given the link of antibody dependence to the classical pathway, we tested how the presence of BBK32 would protect infectious B. burgdorferi from borrelial-specific antibodies in a complement-dependent manner. BBK32 provided protection against complement activation in the presence of borrelial-specific antibodies in vitro. We also demonstrated, using both flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy, that BBK32 results in the reduction of C4 deposition on the surface of borrelial cells. This work demonstrates that BBK32 can simultaneously bind to both C1r and Fn and contributes to the broader understanding of the ability of B. burgdorferi to evade antibody-dependent complement-mediated killing. These observations are significant as they suggest that BBK32 plays a dual role in adhesion and dissemination in infectious B. burgdorferi, as well as immune evasion activities, which ostensibly promotes its pathogenic potential.

BBK32 attenuates antibody-dependent complement-mediated killing of infectious Borreliella burgdorferi isolates PLOSPathogens

My TAMU Lecture

At Texas A&M University

Looking forward to a great TAMU COM GSO research symposium this year!

I am very excited to announce the Texas A&M COM Annual Graduate Student Research Symposium. This event will feature Dr. Peter Hotez as our keynote speaker. As the GSO president this year, I have had the pleasure of planning this event with an amazing officer team. See the link below for more info!

Congratulations to my senior graduate student, Brittany Shapiro, who was awarded the Richard and Mary Finkelstein award. She was also selected to give a Rapid Fire flash talk at the #ASMicrobe annual meeting in Los Angeles and did an outstanding job! @rnarebel.bsky.social

Always great to see you!

Had a great time at #ASMicrobe this week. Congrats to @richmarconi.bsky.social for receiving the ASM Applied and Biotechnological Research Award!

Check out our new Skare lab group photo! Featuring some Texas bluebonnets and iconic lab shirts.

app.oneclickpolitics.com/campaign-pag...

Urge Congress to protect these critical research programs!

Big thanks to Sujata Chaudhari hosting my visit to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. I enjoyed learning about her exciting work with Ixodes ticks as well as with others in her department. I look forward to interacting more with Sujata and others in the UNMC vector-borne group!