WebmedCentral Editor
View all WebmedCentral Editors
 
No Image

Dr. John Clayton

Postdoctoral fellow
IBMC - CNRS UPR 9022
15, rue René Descartes
 

Brief Biography:


I was born and raised near Blythe, California. I Went to UC Berkeley and got my bachelor's degree in Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis in Genetics and Development. While there, I worked in the Laboratory of Brent Mishler on molecular evolution of the 3'UTR of the rbcL gene. After graduating, I worked for eighteen months in Atlanta, GA as an EID Fellow in the Laboratory of Dr. Mark Benedict on transgenesis of the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae. In the Spring of 2003 I joined the laboratory of Dr. Fotis Kafatos at EMBL in Heidelberg, Germany, where I worked on reverse genetics, transgenesis and functional genomics of An. gambiae, specifically with respect to the insect innate immune response to Plasmodium and bacterial infections . I returned to the US in 2003 to pursue a PhD in the laboratory of Dr. J. Marie Hardwick in the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD. My thesis research involved the heterologous expression of virulence factors in Sindbis virus and the insect host response to RNA viruses, particularly in the context of a prime-challenge infection model. After earning my doctorate, I began post-doctoral work in the laboratory of Stephanie Blandin in the Anopheles Group at the Institute de Biologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire (IBMC) in Strasbourg, France. We are currently working to identify genes responsible for resistance and susceptibility to Plasmodium infection in the malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. This is my second experience living abroad as an ex-pat and I am trying to make the most of it by learning French and blogging about my experiences, my research and life in general. In my spare time, I enjoy traveling, dining, film, visiting monuments, museums and parks, theater, classical and contemporary live music performances and pub crawling.
 

Academic positions:


2011 - 2012, Post-doctoral Researcher at IBMC-CNRS, Strasbourg, France 2003 - 2010, Graduate Student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States 2002 - 2003, Researcher at European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany 2000 - 2002, Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) Fellow at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
 

Research interests:


I am a post-doctoral researcher with more than 10 years experience working on the genetics of mosquito vectors of human disease. I am interested in the development and implementation of novel genetics-based vector control strategies aiming to reduce the transmission of vector borne pathogens, especially malaria and dengue virus. Other research areas of interest to me include: The emerging and rapidly growing market for personal genomic information The application of recent advances in the field of innate immunology to rational vaccine design and development
 

Any other information:


Specialties include: Molecular genetics and genomics; Vector control; Malaria; Arboviruses; Vaccine development and design
 

What I think of the idea behind WebmedCentral:


Organized and documented post-publication review of the literature has been heretofore lacking. The introduction of such a change to the current peer-review paradigm has profound potential to change the manner in which we evaluate the quality of research, if it is ultimately widely adopted by the community.
 

Home Page:


http://www.mendeley.com/profiles/john-clayton/