Professional Summary

Adela Oliva Chavez, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University. Her interest focuses on the molecular host-pathogen and vector-pathogen interactions. She is interested in how vector-borne pathogens influence host and vector cellular responses, such as immune responses, cellular trafficking, and vesicle secretion. She is also interested in finding management alternatives to stop tick feeding and pathogen transmission in animal systems and in humans. She has published her research in several high impact journals, including Nature Communications, PNAS, PLoS Pathogens, and others. She has also contributed to a book chapter on “Protozoal and Rickettsial vaccines” in “Veterinary vaccines” by FAO and another on “Intracellular Pathogens II: Rickettsiales” in “The Way Forward: Improving Genetic Systems”. During her 3 years at Texas A&M University she has secured around $1M dollars in support of her research program as Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI).

Research Areas of Expertise

Vector biology, medical entomology, tick-borne diseases, host-pathogen-vector interactions

Selected Publications

Park JM, Oliva Chávez AS, Shaw DK. Ticks: More Than Just a Pathogen Delivery Service. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2021;11:739419. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.739419. eCollection 2021. PubMed PMID: 34540723; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8440996.

Oliva Chávez AS, Wang X, Marnin L, Archer NK, Hammond HL, Carroll EEM, Shaw DK, Tully BG, Buskirk AD, Ford SL, Butler LR, Shahi P, Morozova K, Clement CC, Lawres L, Neal AJO, Mamoun CB, Mason KL, Hobbs BE, Scoles GA, Barry EM, Sonenshine DE, Pal U, Valenzuela JG, Sztein MB, Pasetti MF, Levin ML, Kotsyfakis M, Jay SM, Huntley JF, Miller LS, Santambrogio L, Pedra JHF. Tick extracellular vesicles enable arthropod feeding and promote distinct outcomes of bacterial infection. Nat Commun. 2021 Jun 17;12(1):3696. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23900-8. PubMed PMID: 34140472; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8211691.

Pham M, Underwood J, Oliva Chávez AS. Changing the Recipe: Pathogen Directed Changes in Tick Saliva Components. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 12;18(4). doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041806. Review. PubMed PMID: 33673273; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7918122.

Chávez ASO, O’Neal AJ, Santambrogio L, Kotsyfakis M, Pedra JHF. Message in a vesicle – trans-kingdom intercommunication at the vector-host interface. J Cell Sci. 2019 Mar 18;132(6). doi: 10.1242/jcs.224212. Review. PubMed PMID: 30886004; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6451414.

Oliva Chávez AS, Fairman JW, Felsheim RF, Nelson CM, Herron MJ, Higgins L, Burkhardt NY, Oliver JD, Markowski TW, Kurtti TJ, Edwards TE, Munderloh UG. An O-Methyltransferase Is Required for Infection of Tick Cells by Anaplasma phagocytophilum. PLoS Pathog. 2015;11(11):e1005248. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005248. eCollection 2015. PubMed PMID: 26544981; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4636158.