Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle): Neumann, Aaron Kurt
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Provide the following information for the Senior/key personnel and other significant contributors in the order listed on Form Page 2.
Follow this format for each person. DO NOT EXCEED FOUR PAGES.
NAME
POSITION TITLE
Aaron Kurt Neumann
Assistant Professor of Pathology
eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login)
aaron_neumann
EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with baccalaureate or other initial professional education, such as nursing, include postdoctoral training and
residency training if applicable.)
DEGREE
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION
MM/YY
FIELD OF STUDY
(if applicable)
King College (Bristol, TN)
Case Western Reserve Univ. (Cleveland, OH)
B.S.
5/1997
Biology & Chemistry
(transfer)
12/99
Cell & Molecular Biology
Ph.D.
5/2005
Immunology
Postdoc
12/2011
Fungal Immunology/Cell
Biology/Biophysics
University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC)
Please refer to the application instructions in order to complete sections A, B, C, and D of the Biographical
Sketch.
A. Personal Statement
My interest lies in applying my background in Immunology and Quantitative Microscopy to problems in innate
immune recognition of Candida species fungal pathogen, a common secondary disease in patients with
hematological malignancy. My lab pursues a dual focus two major topics:
Spatiotemporal regulation of the earliest stages in fungal recognition from both host and pathogen perspectives
 Receptor recruitment to fungal-innate immune cell synapses
 Spatial patterning at those structures on micro- and nanometer scales
 Implications for downstream signaling
 Polarized adaptations of fungal cell walls during interactions with host cells
Mechanisms that influence accessibility of clinically relevant Candida biofilms to small molecules (i.e.,
antimycotic drugs) and immune cells (i.e., neutrophils and antigen presenting cells)
 Identification and regulation of barriers to mass transport in biofilms
 Adhesion to and infiltration of biofilms by leukocytes
 Antigen gathering mechanisms used in the context of fungal biofilms
My goals are to: 1) understand the complex process by which innate immune cells perceive and respond
appropriately to fungal microbes and 2) improve therapeutic options for treatment by better understanding of
how biofilms resist chemotherapeutic and immune attacks.
B. Positions & Honors
Positions and Employment
2005-2010
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
2011
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
2011
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel
PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 06/09)
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Biographical Sketch Format Page
Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle): Neumann, Aaron Kurt
2012-
Hill, NC
Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico, Department of Pathology, Albuquerque, NM
Other Experience and Professional Memberships
2006Member, American Society for Cell Biology
2012Member, American Society for Microbiology
2012Member, International Society for Human and Animal Mycology
Honors
2004
2005-2007
2007-2009
2007
2009
2010
Poster of Distinction Award, American Society for Transplantation Annual Scientific Meeting
Lineberger Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Award, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center,
University of North Carolina
Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F32), National Institutes of Health.
Travel Award for Best Postdoctoral In-house Seminar, Department of Cell & Developmental
Biology, University of North Carolina
Postdoctoral Scholars Award for Research Excellence, University of North Carolina
Postdoctoral Service Award. Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, University of North Carolina
C. Selected Peer-reviewed Publications
1. Biju MP*, Neumann AK*, Bensinger SJ, Johnson RS, Turka LA, Haase VH, 2004. Vhlh Gene Deletion
Induces Hif-1 Mediated Cell Death in Thymocytes. Mol Cell Biol 24(20): 9038-47. (*Both authors
contributed equally to this work). PMCID: PMC517905
2. Neumann AK, Yang J, Biju MP, Joseph SK, Johnson RS, Haase VH, Freedman BD, Turka LA, 2005.
Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1 Regulates T Cell Receptor Signal Transduction, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA,
102(47): 17071-6. PMCID: PMC1287984
3. Neumann AK, Thompson NL, Jacobson K, 2008. Distribution and Lateral Mobility of DC-SIGN on
Immature Dendritic Cells – Implications for Pathogen Uptake, J Cell Science, 121(5): 634-43. PMID:
18270264. http://jcs.biologists.org/content/121/5/634.long
4. Neumann AK & Jacobson K, 2010. A Novel Pseudopodial Component of the Dendritic Cell Anti-fungal
Response: the Fungipod, PLoS Pathog, 6(2): e1000760. PMCID: PMC2820528
5. Neumann AK, Itano MS, Jacobson K. Understanding lipid rafts and other related membrane domains,
F1000 Biol Rep, 2010; 2: 31. PMCID: PMC2894464
6. Itano MS, Neumann AK, Liu P, Zhang F, Gratton E, Parak WJ, Thompson NL, Jacobson K. DC-SIGN
and influenza hemagglutinin dynamics in plasma membrane microdomains are markedly different,
Biophys J, 2011; 100(11): 2662. PMCID: PMC3117154
7. Liu P, Wang X, Itano MS, Neumann AK, Thompson NL, Jacobson K, 2012. The Formation and
Stability of DC-SIGN Microdomains Require its Extracellular Moiety. Traffic, 13(5): 715-726,
PMCID:PMC3365552
8. Itano MS, Steinhauer C, Schmied J, Forthmann C, Liu P, Neumann AK, Jacobson K, Tinnefeld P,
Thompson NL, 2012. Super-Resolution Imaging of C-Type Lectin and Influenza Hemagglutinin
Nanodomains on Plasma Membranes using Blink Microscopy. Biophys J, 102(7):1534-1542. PMCID:
PMC3318115
D. Research Support
ACTIVE
5P50GM085273 (Oliver)
8/1/2012-7/31/13
NIH/NIGMS
$100,000
STMC Career Development Award
PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 06/09)
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5.4 CM
Biographical Sketch Format Page
Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle): Neumann, Aaron Kurt
Major goals of this Project:
The project supports junior faculty associated with the UNM Spatiotemporal Modeling Center to assist them
in initiating their research laboratories.
CTSC003-3
4/1/2012-3/31/2013
CTSC
$9,900
Flow Cytometric Drug Screening in Fungal Biofilms
No Salary Support
Major goals of this Project: The major goals of this project are to construct a bead-based Candida
albicans biofilm model suitable for high throughput flow cytometry screening and to perform testing and
optimization.
RAC Grant
University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center 11/1/12-10/31/13
Assembling Fungal Synapses from Receptor
$25,000
Nanodomains
No Salary Support
Major goals of the Project:
The goal of this project is to describe and define the mechanisms of receptor transport into cell-cell
contacts formed during the course of innate immune fungal recognition
Completed Research Support
1F32AI071900-01A1
Neumann (PI)
02/2007-02/2009
Kirschstein NRSA Fellowship to support training and research on membrane biophysics, transport and
signaling of C-type lectins in human dendritic cells.
PHS 398/2590 (Rev. 06/09)
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Biographical Sketch Format Page