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Leigh Ann Clark

Associate Professor

Dr. Leigh Anne Clark earned her doctoral degree in 2004 from the College of VeterinaryvMedicine at Texas A&M University studying exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in Germanvshepherd dogs. After graduation, she remained in the Department of Pathobiology as a Research Assistant Professor, investigating the genetics of dermatomyositis in Collies and Shetland sheepdogs and merle coat patterning across breeds. In 2009, she joined the faculty of the Department of Genetics & Biochemistry at Clemson University where she was an Associate Professor for the last eight years. Dr. Clark’s group has mapped genetic determinants for many simple and complex traits of dogs, including neuromuscular, autoimmune, and developmental disorders. Her current research focuses on megaesophagus, pancreatic insufficiency, Addison’s disease, and epilepsy.

Elizabeth Greif

PhD Candidate

I graduated from the University of California, Davis in 2018 with a B.S. in Animal Biology and a minor in professional writing. As an undergraduate student, I was introduced to canine genetics where I worked under Dr. Anita Oberbauer to understand the involvement of the major histocompatibility complex class II genes in a canine autoimmune disease. Following UC Davis, I earned my M.S. from Johns Hopkins University in Biotechnology, where I worked under Dr. Amanda Brown to study how Human Immunodeficiency Virus type I affects the brain. My research focused on the role of multi-functional protein, osteopontin, in HIV-induced neurological dysfunction. I started my Ph.D. in genetics under Dr. Leigh Anne Clark in 2020. My research now involves using purebred dog models to study the genetic basis of various diseases that occur naturally in both dogs and humans. My main project focuses on Addison’s disease in two breeds that are commonly affected: Standard Poodles and Portuguese Water Dogs. From a thorough genetic investigation, I hope to elucidate the genetic underpinnings of Addison’s disease, which can help direct future efforts to prevent and combat this lifelong illness.

Education:

Johns Hopkins University, MS

UC Davis, BS

Selected Publications:

Bell, S. M., Evans, J.M., Greif, E. A., Tsai, K. L., Friedenberg, S. G., Clark., L. A. (2023). GWAS using low-pass whole genome sequence reveals a novel locus in canine congenital idiopathic megaesophagus. Mamm Genome, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00335-023-09991-2

 

Robinson, J.A., Mahmud, F.J., Greif, E., Toribio, M., Zanni, M. V., Brown, A. M., Burdo, T. H. (2023) Osteopontin is an integral mediator of cardiac interstitial fibrosis in models of human immunodeficiency virus infection. J Infect Dis, https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiad149

 

Mahmud, F. J., Greif, E., Boucher, T., Metcalf, P. A., Lyons, C., Carlson, B., Brown, A. M. (2021). Complex interactions between human immunodeficiency virus type-1, sex, and osteopontin influence viral replication and leukocyte proportions in tissues.  Front. Virol., 1(690360), https://doi.org/10.3389/fviro.2021.690360

 

Mahmud, F. J., Du, Y., Greif, E., Boucher, T., Dannals, R. F., Mathews, W. B., . . . Brown, A. M. (2020). Osteopontin/secreted phosphoprotein-1 behaves as a molecular brake regulating the neuroinflammatory response to chronic viral infection. J Neuroinflammation, 17(1), 273. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-020-01949-4

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