This study shows that Caspase-11 worsens severe SARS-CoV-2 by increasing inflammation and reducing CD8 T-cell immunity, but its removal improves viral clearance and survival.

JCI Insight · Sep 21, 2026Peer-reviewedMicrobiology

Gelsolin protects mitochondria and regulates inflammation during Legionella pneumophila infection

Owen D. Whitham, Mostafa M. Eltobgy, Mohamed M. Shamseldin, Asmaa Badr, Richard A Perez, Yara Y. Hassan, Heba M. Amer, Gauruv A. Gupta, Sarah E. Faber, Frank H. Robledo-Avila, Xiaoli Zhang, Maya Mikami, Santiago Partida‐Sánchez, Stephanie M. Seveau, Amal O. Amer

This study shows that gelsolin protects against Legionella pneumophila infection by maintaining mitochondrial health, reducing inflammation, and supporting neutrophil function.

bioRxiv · Aug 20, 2026 · PreprintImmunology

Multidimensional Cellular Micro-Compartments to Model Invasive Lobular Carcinoma Dormancy

Xilal Y. Rima, Sarmila Majumder, Divya S. Patel, Chunyu Hu, Hong Li, Xin Huang, Kim Truc Nguyen, Jacob Doon‐Ralls, Chiranth K. Nagaraj, Mangesh Dattu Hade, Setty M. Magaña, Eswar Shankar, Xiaoli Zhang, Daniel G. Stover, Bhuvaneswari Ramaswamy, Eduardo Reátegui

This study develops multidimensional in vitro models to investigate anti-estrogen resistance and dormancy in invasive lobular carcinoma, identifying p27Kip1 signaling as central to dormant phenotype.

Advanced Healthcare Materials · May 19, 2026Peer-reviewedBioengineering

Estrogen Signaling During Abrupt Involution Leads to Long-Term Metabolic Dysfunction Similar to Estrogen Receptor Negative Breast Cancer

Kate Ormiston, Neelam Shinde, Gautam Sarathy, Allen Zhang, Morgan Bauer, Rajni Kant Shukla, Sara Alsammerai, Annapurna Gupta, Djawed Bennouna, Julia Wesolowski, Xiaoli Zhang, Rachel E. Kopec, Eswar Shankar, Kristin I. Stanford, Ramesh Kumar Ganju, , Daniel G. Stover

This study compares abrupt and gradual involution in mouse mammary glands, finding that abrupt involution leads to metabolic dysfunction resembling estrogen receptor negative breast cancer.

bioRxiv · Oct 9, 2025 · PreprintCancer Biology

AI-based decoding of long covid cognitive impairments in mice using automated behavioral system and comparative transcriptomic analysis

Heba M. Amer, Mohamed M. Shamseldin, Sarah Faber, Mostafa M. Eltobgy, Amy Webb, Rabab ElMergawy, Michelle Chamblee, Richard Perez, Owen D. Whitham, Asmaa Badr, Gauruv A. Gupta, Jihad I. Omran, Destiny Bissel, Jacob S. Yount, Estelle Cormet‐Boyaka, , Amal O. Amer

This study uses an automated behavioral system and transcriptomic analysis to identify cognitive impairments in mice with long COVID, finding similar transcriptomic changes to humans.

bioRxiv · May 14, 2025 · PreprintNeuroscience

DNA hypomethylation promotes the expression of CASPASE-4 which exacerbates neuroinflammation and amyloid-β deposition in Alzheimer's disease

Kylene P. Daily, Asmaa Badr, Mostafa M. Eltobgy, Shady Z. K. Estfanous, Owen D. Whitham, Michelle H. Tan, Cierra Carafice, Kathrin Krause, Andrew J. McNamara, Kaitlin Hamilton, Samuel Houle, Spandan Gupta, Gauruv A. Gupta, Shruthi Madhu, Julie Fitzgerald, , Amal O. Amer

This study identifies DNA hypomethylation of CASP4 in AD microglia leading to increased CASP4 expression, which promotes neuroinflammation and amyloid-β deposition in Alzheimer's disease.

bioRxiv · Aug 30, 2023 · PreprintNeuroscience

Decoding 3D spatial location across saccades in human visual cortex

Xiaoli Zhang, Christopher M Jones, Julie D. Golomb

This study investigates how saccades affect the brain's representation of 3D spatial locations using fMRI, finding that saccade blocks show greater tolerance to fixation position changes compared to no-saccade blocks.

bioRxiv · Jul 5, 2020 · PreprintNeuroscience