Kalai Mathee, MS, PhD
Associate Professor &
Founding Chair
Department of Molecular
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Herbert Wertheim College of
Medicine
Florida
International University
www.fiu.edu/~matheek/Prom
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Promotion Application |
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Note: This
website is for the promotion reviewers only. |
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The summary focuses on
the candidateÕs contributions since tenure and promotion in 2004. The period
covered is from Fall 2004 to Fall 2009 Please
follow the links provided for additional details. |
Education & Work Experience (For details
click here)
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In Fall 2006, the candidate spent a successful sabbatical as a Visiting Professor at the Harvard Medical School. Since then, she and her students have continued to collaborate with Professor Lory from that institution. She was hired as the first founding faculty member in the newly formed FIU College of Medicine in Summer 2007. Since Fall 2007, the candidate has been the Founding (Interim) Chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. The candidate retained a 25% appointment with the Department of Biological Sciences until Fall 2008. |
Awards and Honors (For details
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In
2004, she received the FIU Excellence in Research Award. She was profiled in
Fall 2004 FIU Magazine that was devoted to the initiation of the Medical
School. In Fall 2006, she was chosen by FIU to be featured in the ÒThe FIU
Would-Class CampaignÓ which showcased the quality and excellence in FIU in
the Miami Herald in a 30-day series of full-page advertisements. In 2007, she
delivered the Faculty Invocation at the 2007 Faculty Convocation at the Florida
International University, October 5th, 2007, Miami, FL. The South Florida Cystic Fibrosis Foundation honored
her with the Beauty and the Best Award for outstanding contributions to the community
and to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She serves on two editorial boards of international
journals: BMC Microbiology and Journal of Medical Microbiology, based in the
US and UK, respectively. She has also served in several international
conference committees and chaired sessions at these conferences. She has given numerous invited presentations at universities and international conferences. Her work with her mentees was selected 14 times for oral presentations at conferences, seven of which received best presentation awards. |
External Funding (For details
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The candidate has been continuously funded since joining FIU. Since 2004, the candidate has been a PI on three major NIH grants with direct costs totaling $2,026,362. Currently, she is a PI on a grant for $1.24 Million through 2012. She also served as Co-PI on four grants that totaled $2.28 Million. The PI also served as a mentor on 22 student grants and fellowships, helped two sabbatical visitors procure grants from their home countries. |
Publications (For details
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Candidate has a total of 60 publications to date. Since tenure, the candidate has published 33 articles of which 27 are peer-reviewed. Two of them were published in high profile journals (Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and NanoLetters) with high impact factors. These two articles also received wide publicity. Of note is the 2008 PNAS article (with the candidate as first author), which was selected by the Faculty of 1000 Biology members for review, a much-coveted honor. That paper was the first comparative genomics paper of its kind to be published. The work published in NanoLetters resulted in a patent application with the senior author, Prof. Wonbong Choi. In 2005, a paper by her first PhD student was selected for Journal Highlights in the ASM News December issue. ASM News is published monthly and highlights one article per journal that describes new and exciting developments in microbial research. The candidate was the corresponding author on four major publications with her second PhD student whose work focused on alternative therapies to treat infections by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These resulted in collaborations with Dr. Frederick Ausubel (a member of the National Academy and a professor at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital) and another patent application. |
Research
Interests & Expertise (For details click here)
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The candidateÕs research has focused on an opportunistic bacterial pathogen called Pseudomonas aeruginosa that causes a variety of severe and sometimes lethal infections of the respiratory tract, urinary tract, intestine, eyes, ears, and wounds. It has become a serious threat to immuno-compromised patients, and has become difficult to treat due to an increasing resistance (intrinsic and acquired) to multiple antibiotics. Chronic infection with P. aeruginosa remains the most common cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), an inherited disease among Caucasians, afflicting 1 in 3500 live births in the USA. Antibiotic therapy, with a mixture of aminoglycoside and §-lactam antibiotics, is most often prescribed. However, the treatment often fails in CF patients due to the emergence of resistant strains that produce mucus. The candidateÕs research on this organism can be subdivided into four subsections. Two of them delve into the molecular mechanisms responsible for (1) antibiotic resistance, and (2) conversion to mucoid strains. In addition, the candidate has been actively pursuing the study of alternative therapies (compounds of botanical and synthetic origin) to combat P. aeruginosa. Finally, the candidate has been interested in exploring microbial ecology using metagenomic tools to determine bacterial diversity in the lungs of CF patients. Studies by the candidate involving CF lungs have shown that the diversity of organisms in the lung can potentially determine disease outcome. In a related study of microbial diversity in soils, she has also shown that the soil metagenome can be used as a forensic tool. |
Mentoring
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The candidate has mentored three visiting scholars (from China, India and Miami) and three visiting students (from Nigeria, Sweden and France). She is currently mentoring two visiting scholars (from China and Egypt) and one resident scholar (from US). The candidate is mentoring two postdoctoral fellows and three PhD students. She has graduated two PhD students and five Masters students. The candidate graduated nine undergraduates with Honors theses and four without theses. She currently mentors three undergraduates from the Honors College. She has also successfully mentored numerous high school students, made them excited about laboratory science, and helped them win awards at Science Project Fairs. Last summer, she mentored an exceptional middle school student with considerable success. Her students have been successful in garnering fellowships, scholarships and accolades. They attend both national and international meetings. Most mentees have one or more publications to their credit before they leave her lab. She has received excellent teaching evaluations throughout with many glowing comments from students, both at graduate and undergraduate levels. Also see the letters of support from mentees, current and past.
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Service
– Professional & University (For details click here)
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The candidate has served as reviewer for many international journals. Her services were recognized by invitations to serve on two editorial boards of international journals: BMC Microbiology and Journal of Medical Microbiology, based in the US and UK, respectively. The candidate has also reviewed grants for the National Science Foundation, Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Swiss National Science Foundation and UK Medical Research Council. The candidate has been an active member of the university community contributing to the success of various programs including the establishment of the new FIU College of Medicine. In 2004, with help of her students, the candidate created The Robert James Smiddy Memorial Endowment Fund to memorialize her studentÕs life and acknowledge his academic excellence and scientific/research achievements. She continues to involve the family in selecting the awardee for the annual award from this fund. She has also volunteered her time and money to teach two short 3-week courses to the medical students in war-ravaged Liberia in Fall 2007. See the link for comments from the grateful Liberian students and the Liberia Medical Association. |
Administration
(For details click here)
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The candidate has served as the Founding (Interim) Chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology & Infectious Diseases since Fall 2007. She participated actively in recruiting all the COM research faculty members including one for her department. She has developed a comprehensive and complete website for her department. She has also recruited an impressive group of teaching faculty members. |
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Last Updated: November 1st, 2009 |