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M. Gabriela Bowden, Ph.D.

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M. Gabriela Bowden, Ph.D.

Joint Assistant Professor
Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis

2121 W. Holcombe Blvd.
Houston, Texas 77030
Phone: 713-677-7572
Fax: 713-677-7576
Email: gbowden@ibt.tamhsc.edu

Education and Post-Graduate Training

M. Gabriela Bowden was born in La Plata, Argentina and studied at the National University of Mar del Plata, where she received a B. S. degree. She earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas Health Science Center Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Her Ph.D. dissertation focused on the soil bacterium Myxococcus xanthus, its motility and developmental gene expression. After graduation, she joined the laboratory of Dr. Magnus Höök, at the Texas A&M University Institute of Biosciences and Technology, where she extended her research training into the field of molecular pathogenesis of infections caused by Staphylococci. In 2001, she received a National Institutes of Health Individual Research Award, to support her studies of S. epidermidis adhesins. In June of 2004, she joined the faculty of the Center for Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases as a Research Assistant Professor. She is currently supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Research Interests

Research interests of M. Gabriela Bowden, Ph.D. – bacterial virulence factors, adhesins and toxins, protein structure and function, protein expression and regulation. Dr. Bowden’s research focuses on the bacterial adhesins of Staphylococcus epidermidis, their structure and function. She employs biochemical and biophysical approaches to unveil protein-protein interactions that allows bacteria to infect the host. Dr. Bowden is also interested in the study of emerging strains of Staphylococcus aureus. These emerging strains affect healthy children and young adults, causing serious infections. Dr. Bowden is interested in deciphering which virulence factors are present in the novel strains that allow them to disseminate easily within the community.

Selected Publications

Bowden, M.G., L. Visai, C. M. Longshaw, K. T. Holland, P. Speziale and M. Höök. (2002) Is the GehD lipase from Staphylococcus epidermidis a collagen-binding adhesin? J. Biol. Chem. 277:43017-43023.
Simpson, K. H., Bowden, M. G., Höök, M., Anvari, B. (2002). Measurement of adhesive forces between S. epidermidis and Fibronectin-coated surfaces using optical tweezers. Las. Sur. Med. 31:45-52.
Simpson, K. H., Bowden, M. G., Höök, M., Anvari, B. (2003) Measurement of adhesive forces between individual Staphylococcus aureus MSCRAMMs and protein-coated surfaces by use of optical tweezers. J. Bacteriol. 185:2031-2035.
Ponnuraj, K, Bowden, M. G., Davis, S., Gurusiddappa, S., Moore, D., Choe, D., Höök, M., Narayana, S. (2003). A “dock, lock and latch” structural model for a staphylococcal adhesin binding to fibrinogen. Cell, 115: 217-228.
Simpson, K. H., Bowden, M. G., Höök, M. and B. Anvari. Quantification of S. aureus binding to extracellular matrix molecules using optical tweezers. (2003) IEEE Eng. Med. Biol. Mag. 2003 Sep-Oct;22(5):113-7.
Simpson KH, Bowden M.G., Peacock SJ, Arya M, Höök M, Anvari B. (2004) Adherence of Staphylococcus aureus fibronectin binding protein A mutants: an investigation using optical tweezers. Biomol Eng. 2004 Nov;21(3-5):105-111.
Bowden, M. G., Chen, W., Xu, Y., Peacock, S., Valtulina, V., Speziale, P.and Höök, M. (2005) Identification and preliminary characterization of cell-wall anchored proteins of Staphylococcus epidermidis. Microbiology May 151, 1453-1464.
Labandeira-Rey, M., Couzon, F., Boisset, S., Brown, E.L., Bes, M., Benito, Y., Barbu, E.M., Vazquez, V., Höök, M., Etienne, J., Vandenesch, F., Bowden, M.G. (2007) Staphylococcus aureus Panton Valentine Leukocidin causes necrotizing pneumonia. Science January 2007 Science Express, estimated publish February 23, 2007 Science Magazine. PUB ID 1137165.