Vinai C. Thomas, PhD

Department Affiliations
Associate Professor

Interests
Staphylococcal physiology and metabolism; staphylococcal stress response
For further details visit Thomas Lab.

Education and Training
BSc, Microbiology, University of Pune, Maharashtra, India, 2000
MSc, Microbiology, University of Pune, Maharashtra, India, 2002
MSc, Biotechnology, University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland, UK, 2005
PhD, Microbiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA, 2009
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, 2009 - 2010
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA, 2010 - 2013

National Activities
Member, American Society for Microbiology
Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Member, Association of Microbiologists of India, 2000 - 2002

Notable Publications

Lindgren JK, Thomas VC, Olson ME, Chaudhari SS, Nuxoll AS, Schaeffer CR, Lindgren KE, Jones J, Zimmerman MC, Dunman PM, Bayles KW, Fey PD. Arginine deiminase in Staphylococcus epidermidis functions to augment biofilm maturation through pH homeostasis. J. Bacteriol. 196 : 2277-89. 2014

Thomas VC, Sadykov MR, Chaudhari SS, Jones J, Endres JL, Widhelm TJ, Ahn JS, Jawa RS, Zimmerman MC, Bayles KW. A central role for carbon-overflow pathways in the modulation of bacterial cell death. PLoS Pathog. 10 : e1004205. 2014

Wang G, Hanke ML, Mishra B, Lushnikova T, Heim CE, Chittezham Thomas V, Bayles KW, Kielian T. Transformation of human cathelicidin LL-37 into selective, stable, and potent antimicrobial compounds. ACS Chem. Biol. 9 : 1997-2002. 2014

Thomas VC, Kinkead LC, Janssen A, Schaeffer CR, Woods KM, Lindgren JK, Peaster JM, Chaudhari SS, Sadykov M, Jones J, AbdelGhani SM, Zimmerman MC, Bayles KW, Somerville GA, Fey PD. A dysfunctional tricarboxylic acid cycle enhances fitness of Staphylococcus epidermidis during β-lactam stress. MBio. 4 : 2013

Sadykov MR, Thomas VC, Marshall DD, Wenstrom CJ, Moormeier DE, Widhelm TJ, Nuxoll AS, Powers R, Bayles KW. Inactivation of the Pta-AckA pathway causes cell death in Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol. 195 : 3035-44. 2013

Wang G, Epand RF, Mishra B, Lushnikova T, Thomas VC, Bayles KW, Epand RM. Decoding the functional roles of cationic side chains of the major antimicrobial region of human cathelicidin LL-37. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 56 : 845-56. 2012

Karlinsey JE, Bang IS, Becker LA, Frawley ER, Porwollik S, Robbins HF, Thomas VC, Urbano R, McClelland M, Fang FC. The NsrR regulon in nitrosative stress resistance of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Mol. Microbiol. 85 : 1179-93. 2012

Richardson AR, Payne EC, Younger N, Karlinsey JE, Thomas VC, Becker LA, Navarre WW, Castor ME, Libby SJ, Fang FC. Multiple targets of nitric oxide in the tricarboxylic acid cycle of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium. Cell Host Microbe. 10: 33-43. 2011

Thurlow LR, Thomas VC, Narayanan S, Olson S, Fleming SD, Hancock LE. Gelatinase contributes to the pathogenesis of endocarditis caused by Enterococcus faecalis. Infect. Immun. 78 : 4936-43. 2010

Thomas VC, Hiromasa Y, Harms N, Thurlow L, Tomich J, Hancock LE. A fratricidal mechanism is responsible for eDNA release and contributes to biofilm development of Enterococcus faecalis. Mol. Microbiol. 72 : 1022-36. 2009

Macovei L, Ghosh A, Thomas VC, Hancock LE, Mahmood S, Zurek L. Enterococcus faecalis with the gelatinase phenotype regulated by the fsr operon and with biofilm-forming capacity are common in the agricultural environment. Environ. Microbiol. 11 : 1540-7. 2009

Thomas VC, Hancock LE. Suicide and fratricide in bacterial biofilms. Int J Artif Organs. 32 : 537-44. 2009

Thurlow LR, Thomas VC, Hancock LE. Capsular polysaccharide production in Enterococcus faecalis and contribution of CpsF to capsule serospecificity. J. Bacteriol. 191 : 6203-10. 2009

Thurlow LR, Thomas VC, Fleming SD, Hancock LE. Enterococcus faecalis capsular polysaccharide serotypes C and D and their contributions to host innate immune evasion. Infect. Immun. 77 : 5551-7. 2009

Thomas VC, Thurlow LR, Boyle D, Hancock LE. Regulation of autolysis-dependent extracellular DNA release by Enterococcus faecalis extracellular proteases influences biofilm development. J. Bacteriol. 190 : 5690-8. 2008

For a detailed list of publications:
ORCID
NCBI Bibliography