nicklaussparrow@me.com
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, 2011-2017, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL; GPA: 3.84
-Dissertation: The Actin-Severing Protein Cofilin Is Downstream Of Neuregulin Signaling, Is Regulated By The Tumor Suppressor Merlin, And Is Essential For Schwann Cell Myelination
B.S., Molecular Biology & Microbiology and B.S., Biotechnology, 2005-2010 University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL; Cumulative GPA: 3.56, Major GPA: 3.65
-Member of Burnett Honors College
-Honors in the Major (HIM), Undergraduate Research Thesis
-Student-Mentor Academic Research Team (SMART) program
PROSFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Laboratory Manager/Research Associate III, July 2019-July 2023, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Laboratory of Shouri Lahiri, MD
-Responsible for the establishment, organization, operation, and compliance of the laboratory
-Overseeing and managing of up to 5 laboratory staff, from undergraduates to senior scientists
-Scientific data production and composition of both scientific articles and multiple grants
-Established SOPs for two animal models (ARDS and UTI), maintenance and genotyping of 5 different transgenic line, in vitro neuron assays analyzed via western blotting
-Numerous immunohistochemical assays personally optimized for reproducibility of brain and nervous system tissue sections, as well as various other organs (kidney, bladder, lungs)
-Running and maintaining a Zeiss Imager Z.2 with Apotome 2.0 for Neurosciences Department including training of all new personal
Postdoctoral Fellow Scientist, October 2017-July 2019, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Laboratory of Dr. Warren G. Tourtellotte, MD
-Running and maintaining a Zeiss Imager Z.2 with Apotome 2.0 for Neurosciences Department
-Whole mount staining of both whole embryos and adult organs, followed by tissue clearing (iDISCO)
-Light sheet microscopy (LaVisionBioTec UltraMicroscope), and 3D image analysis (Imaris)
-Mouse husbandry, standardized PCR genotyping of 7 alleles, production of time pregnant females, gross and fine dissection of various tissues from postnatal to adult, processing of tissues for fluorescent and dye-based histology (cryo-sections and FFPE)
-Maintaining and running tissue culture room, tissue culture of primary neurons and cell lines
-Plasmid synthesis, transfection of cell lines/expression of recombinant proteins, protein extraction and quantification, immunoprecipitation, western blotting
Undergraduate/Graduate Research Assistant, January 2007-August 2016, University of Central Florida; Laboratory of Dr. Cristina Fernandez-Valle, PhD
-Running and maintaining a Zeiss LSM 710 confocal microscope system for the Biomedical Department
-Pioneered methods for the purification and cell culture of human schwannoma cells derived from fresh patient samples
-Development of a high-throughput growth/imaging technique to analyze myelinating Schwann cell/neuron co-cultures in a 96-well format
-Husbandry of multiple transgenic mouse colonies including routine genotyping using PCR
-Assistance in the development of an immortalized, merlin-null mouse cell line to model the genetic disorder Neurofibromatosis Type II
-Dissection of mice and rats for isolation of Schwann cells and neurons for cell culturing, routinely supplying cells to 5 other coworkers
-Long-term live imaging using Zeiss widefield system of primary nervous system tissues and multiple cancer cell lines, both cell types transfected with various plasmids or treated with small molecules
SKILLS & QUALITIES
Lab: cryo-sectioning and tissue mounting, immunofluorescence, fluorescence/transmitted light widefield/confocal/spinning disk microscopy, long-term live cell microscopy, whole mount staining/clearing (iDISCO), light sheet microscopy, mouse husbandry, tissue (rodent and human) preparation for culture/histology, cell culture of primary cells (rodent and human), PCR, protein and DNA extraction, crystal violet proliferation assays, western blotting, immunoprecipitation, plasmid preparation/purification, transient (chemical-mediated) and stable (viral vector-mediated) transfection of primary and immortalized cell lines, immortalized cell line production
Computer Software (both PC and MAC): Imaris, Zeiss LSM 510, Zeiss Zen Black and Blue, Zeiss AxioVision, Perkin Elmer Volocity, ImageJ/FIJI, GraphPad Prism, JMP Pro, ImageQuant TL (Licor), Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop/InDesign/Illustrator, CorelDRAW
Qualities: Reliable, dedicated, trustworthy, great communication skills and leadership ability, effective and well-developed problem-solving abilities, strategic planner/organizer, knowledgeable in quantitative/statistical analysis
PUBLICATIONS
17β-estradiol ameliorates delirium-like phenotypes in a murine model of urinary tract infection. Guidry G, Sparrow NA, Marshall HS, De Souza Santos R, Bharath SP, Gezalian MM, Pisarska MD, Vit JP, Kelly SA, Karumanchi SA, Lahiri S. Sci Rep. 2022 Nov 15;12(1):19622.
Prone positioning reduces frontal and hippocampal neuronal dysfunction in a murine model of ventilator-induced lung injury. Sparrow NA, Guidry G, Anwar F, Darwish S, Kelly SA, Karumanchi SA, Lahiri S. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Nov 4;9:987202.
Systemic interleukin-6 inhibition ameliorates acute neuropsychiatric phenotypes in a murine model of acute lung injury. Anwar F, Sparrow NA, Rashid MH, Guidry G, Gezalian MM, Ley EJ, Koronyo-Hamaoui M, Danovitch I, Ely EW, Karumanchi SA, Lahiri S. Crit Care. 2022 Sep 13;26(1):274.
Interleukin-6 mediates delirium-like phenotypes in a murine model of urinary tract infection. Rashid MH, Sparrow NA, Anwar F, Guidry G, Covarrubias AE, Pang H, Bogguri C, Karumanchi SA, Lahiri S. J Neuroinflammation. 2021 Oct 28;18(1):247. doi: 10.1186/s12974-021-02304-x.
Interleukin-6 Inhibition Reduces Neuronal Injury in a Murine Model of Ventilator-induced Lung Injury. Sparrow NA, Anwar F, Covarrubias AE, Rajput PS, Rashid MH, Nisson PL, Gezalian MM, Toossi S, Ayodele MO, Karumanchi SA, Ely EW, Lahiri S. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2021 Oct;65(4):403-412.
Cerebrovascular and neurological perspectives on adrenoceptor and calcium channel modulating pharmacotherapies. Gezalian MM, Mangiacotti L, Rajput P, Sparrow N, Schlick K, Lahiri S. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2021 Apr;41(4):693-706. doi: 10.1177/0271678X20972869. Epub 2020 Nov 19.
Peroxynitrite supports a metabolic reprogramming in merlin-deficient Schwann cells and promotes cell survival. Pestoni JC, Klingeman Plati S, Valdivia Camacho OD, Fuse MA, Onatunde M, Sparrow NA, Karajannis MA, Fernández-Valle C, Franco MC.J Biol Chem. 2019;294(30):11354-11368.
A chemical biology approach identified PI3K as a potential therapeutic target for neurofibromatosis type 2. Petrilli AM, Fuse MA, Donnan MS, Bott M, Sparrow NA, Tondera D, Huffziger J, Frenzel C, Malany CS, Echeverri CJ, Smith L, Fernández-Valle C. Am J Transl Res. 2014 Oct 11;6(5):471-93.
The CT20 peptide causes detachment and death of metastatic breast cancer cells by promoting mitochondrial aggregation and cytoskeletal disruption. Lee MW, Bassiouni R, Sparrow NA, Iketani A, Boohaker RJ, Moskowitz C, Vishnubhotla P, Khaled AS, Oyer J, Copik A, Fernandez-Valle C, Perez JM, Khaled AR. Cell Death Dis. 2014 May 22;5:e1249.
Measuring anisotropic cell motility on curved substrates. Douglass KM, Sparrow NA, Bott M, Fernandez-Valle C, Dogariu A. J Biophotonics. 2013 May;6(5):387-92.
Nitration of Hsp90 induces cell death. Franco MC, Ye Y, Refakis CA, Feldman JL, Stokes AL, Basso M, Melero Fernández de Mera RM, Sparrow NA, Calingasan NY, Kiaei M, Rhoads TW, Ma TC, Grumet M, Barnes S, Beal MF, Beckman JS, Mehl R, Estévez AG. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2013 Mar 19;110(12):E1102-11. Epub 2013 Mar 4.
Stability of the tumor suppressor merlin depends on its ability to bind paxillin LD3 and associate with β1 integrin and actin at the plasma membrane. Manetti ME, Geden S, Bott M, Sparrow N, Lambert S, Fernandez-Valle C. Biol Open. 2012 Oct 15;1(10):949-57.
The actin-severing protein cofilin is downstream of neuregulin signaling and is essential for Schwann cell myelination. Sparrow N, Manetti ME, Bott M, Fabianac T, Petrilli A, Bates ML, Bunge MB, Lambert S, Fernandez-Valle C. J Neurosci. 2012 Apr 11;32(15):5284-97.
Schwannomin/merlin promotes Schwann cell elongation and influences myelin segment length. Thaxton C, Bott M, Walker B, Sparrow NA, Lambert S, Fernandez-Valle C. Mol Cell Neurosci. 2011 May;47(1):1-9.