Kalai Mathee

Kalai Mathee is a professor at Florida International University, joint editor-in-chief of the Journal of Medical Microbiology, and an elected fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. She is known for her research on bacterial infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Kalai Mathee
Born30 August 1959
NationalityAmerican Malaysian
EducationMPH, Health Policy and Management, Florida International University (2018)

PhD, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Tennessee, Memphis (1992)

MSc, Microbial Genetics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1986)

BSc, Genetics, University of Malaya. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1984)
SpouseGiri Narasimhan
Parent(s)Ka. Kaliaperumal
Rugmani Loganayaki
Scientific career
ThesisFunction and regulation of the bacteriophage Mu middle operon (1992)

Early life and education

Kalai Mathee was born into a working-class family in Malaysia to Kuyilar Kaliaperumal and Loganayaki. She is of Tamil heritage and got her early education in a vernacular school SJKT Kerajaan in Ipoh.[1] She has a Bachelor of Science in Genetics from the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, graduating in 1984, and completed her master's in molecular genetics focusing on Neisseria gonorrhoeae in 1986 under the tutelage of Chong-Lek Koh.[2] Mathee did her Ph.D. (1992) at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center at Memphis under Martha Howe's guidance specializing in transcription.[3] Mathee did two post-doctorate fellowships, one at Tufts University focusing on Helicobacter pylori pathogenesis in the year 1993; the other at University of Tennessee Health Science Center working on Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenesis from 1993-1999. In 2018, she received her master's degree in Public Health in Health Policy and Management from Florida International University.

Career

In 1999, Mathee moved to Florida International University where she was promoted to professor in 2013. She did a sabbatical at Harvard Medical School in Stephen Lory’s lab from 2006-2007.[1] In 2007 she was the founding chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at Florida International University.[2]

In 2017, Mathee and Norman Fry were named co-editors-in-cChief of the Journal of Medical Microbiology.[4][5]

Research

Since 1993, the major focus of Mathee’s research has been the pathobiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa chronic infections with specific emphasis on β-lactam resistance, alginate overproduction, comparative genomics, alternative therapies, and cystic fibrosis lung ecology. Her early research identified the function and regulatory mechanisms of the bacteriophage Mu.[6][7] Her postdoctoral research focused on alginate gene regulation with a focus on the alginate-specific sigma factor, AlgT/U, and she was the first to show MucA is an inner membrane protein.[8] Mathee also showed that polymorphonuclear leukocytes and oxygen radicals can contribute to mucoid conversion by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.[9] Mathee has examined the role of quorum sensing molecules in Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections,[10][11][12] and demonstrated that alginate is not required for biofilm formation.[13] Her work has used comparative genomics[14] and transcriptomics[15] to define variability across strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A portion of Mathee's research is on β-lactam resistance,[16] particularly the amp pathway where she showed the presence of a β-lactamase PoxB, two permeases, and coregulation of antibiotic resistance and other virulence factors mediated by AmpR.[17][18] Current ongoing research focuses on exploring various microbiomes, including lung, irritable bowel syndrome, vaginal, and gut.[19]

Selected publications

Awards and honors

In 2011, she was awarded the President’s Council Worlds Ahead Faculty Award from Florida International University.[20] Mathee was named a distinguished fellow of the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre in 2013.[21] In 2014, she was one of the inaugural recipients of the New England Biolabs Passion in Science Award.[22] In 2020, Mathee was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.[23] Mathee is the first Florida International University faculty member to receive this honor, and the first Malaysian woman to receive this honor.[24] In 2022 she was awarded the Microbiology Society's Microbiology Outreach Prize.[25]

Personal life

In 1993, she married a computer science professor, Giri Narasimhan, in Nashville, Tennessee.

References
  1. "Prof Dr Kalai Mathee; A Trailblazing Malaysian Scientist Exceptional Discoveries Makes Waves in The US". Varnam MY. 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  2. "ORCID page for Kalai Mathee". orcid.org. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  3. Mathee, Kalai (1992). Function and regulation of the bacteriophage Mu middle operon (Thesis). OCLC 28138881.
  4. Kalai, Mathee; K.Fry, Norman (1 July 2017). "Welcome from Norman Fry and Kalai Mathee, new co-Editors-in-Chief for the Journal of Medical Microbiology". Journal of Medical Microbiology. 66 (7): 846. doi:10.1099/jmm.0.000520. PMID 28759351.
  5. Kalai, Mathee. "Journal of Medical Microbiology". Journal of Medical Microbiology. eISSN 1473-5644. ISSN 0022-2615.
  6. Mathee, K; Howe, M M (1990-12-01). "Identification of a positive regulator of the Mu middle operon". Journal of Bacteriology. 172 (12): 6641–6650. doi:10.1128/jb.172.12.6641-6650.1990. PMC 210775. PMID 2147678.
  7. Mathee, K; Howe, M M (1993-09-01). "Bacteriophage Mu Mor protein requires sigma 70 to activate the Mu middle promoter". Journal of Bacteriology. 175 (17): 5314–5323. doi:10.1128/jb.175.17.5314-5323.1993. PMC 206584. PMID 8366019.
  8. Mathee, K; McPherson, C J; Ohman, D E (1997-06-01). "Posttranslational control of the algT (algU)-encoded sigma22 for expression of the alginate regulon in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and localization of its antagonist proteins MucA and MucB (AlgN)". Journal of Bacteriology. 179 (11): 3711–3720. doi:10.1128/jb.179.11.3711-3720.1997. PMC 179169. PMID 9171421.
  9. Mathee, Kalai; Ciofu, Oana; Sternberg, Claus; Lindum, Peter W.; Campbell, Joan I. A.; Jensen, Per; Johnsen, Anders H.; Givskov, Michael; Ohman, Dennis E.; Søren, Molin; Høiby, Niels (1999-06-01). "Mucoid conversion of Pseudomonas aeruginos by hydrogen peroxide: a mechanism for virulence activation in the cystic fibrosis lung". Microbiology. 145 (6): 1349–1357. doi:10.1099/13500872-145-6-1349. ISSN 1350-0872. PMID 10411261.
  10. Wu, Hong; Song, Zhijun; Hentzer, Morten; Andersen, Jens Bo; Heydorn, Arne; Mathee, Kalai; Moser, Claus; Eberl, Leo; Molin, Søren; Høiby, Niels; Givskov, Michael YR 2000 (2000). "Detection of N-acylhomoserine lactones in lung tissues of mice infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa". Microbiology. 146 (10): 2481–2493. doi:10.1099/00221287-146-10-2481. ISSN 1465-2080. PMID 11021924.
  11. Wu, Hong; Song, Zhijun; Givskov, Michael; Doring, Gerd; Worlitzsch, Dieter; Mathee, Kalai; Rygaard, Jørgen; Høiby, Niels YR 2001 (2001). "Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutations in lasI and rhlI quorum sensing systems result in milder chronic lung infection". Microbiology. 147 (5): 1105–1113. doi:10.1099/00221287-147-5-1105. ISSN 1465-2080. PMID 11320114.
  12. Adonizio, Allison; Kong, Kok-Fai; Mathee, Kalai (2008). "Inhibition of Quorum Sensing-Controlled Virulence Factor Production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by South Florida Plant Extracts". Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 52 (1): 198–203. doi:10.1128/AAC.00612-07. ISSN 0066-4804. PMC 2223872. PMID 17938186.
  13. Stapper, Andres Plata; Narasimhan, Giri; Ohman, Dennis E.; Barakat, Johnny; Hentzer, Morten; Molin, Søren; Kharazmi, Arsalan; Høiby, Niels; Mathee, KalaiYR 2004 (2004). "Alginate production affects Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm development and architecture, but is not essential for biofilm formation". Journal of Medical Microbiology. 53 (7): 679–690. doi:10.1099/jmm.0.45539-0. ISSN 1473-5644. PMID 15184541.
  14. Mathee, Kalai; Narasimhan, Giri; Valdes, Camilo; Qiu, Xiaoyun; Matewish, Jody M.; Koehrsen, Michael; Rokas, Antonis; Yandava, Chandri N.; Engels, Reinhard; Zeng, Erliang; Olavarietta, Raquel (2008-02-26). "Dynamics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa genome evolution". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (8): 3100–3105. Bibcode:2008PNAS..105.3100M. doi:10.1073/pnas.0711982105. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2268591. PMID 18287045.
  15. Balasubramanian, Deepak; Mathee, Kalai (2009). "Comparative transcriptome analyses of Pseudomonas aeruginosa". Human Genomics. 3 (4): 349–361. doi:10.1186/1479-7364-3-4-361. ISSN 1479-7364. PMC 2897818. PMID 19706365.
  16. Kong, Kok-Fai; Schneper, Lisa; Mathee, Kalai (2010). "Beta-lactam antibiotics: from antibiosis to resistance and bacteriology". APMIS. 118 (1): 1–36. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0463.2009.02563.x. ISSN 1600-0463. PMC 2894812. PMID 20041868.
  17. Kong, Kok-Fai; Jayawardena, Suriya Ravi; Indulkar, Shalaka Dayaram; del Puerto, Aimee; Koh, Chong-Lek; Høiby, Niels; Mathee, Kalai (2005-11-01). "Pseudomonas aeruginosa AmpR Is a Global Transcriptional Factor That Regulates Expression of AmpC and PoxB β-Lactamases, Proteases, Quorum Sensing, and Other Virulence Factors". Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 49 (11): 4567–4575. doi:10.1128/AAC.49.11.4567-4575.2005. PMC 1280116. PMID 16251297.
  18. Balasubramanian, Deepak; Schneper, Lisa; Merighi, Massimo; Smith, Roger; Narasimhan, Giri; Lory, Stephen; Mathee, Kalai (2012-03-29). "The Regulatory Repertoire of Pseudomonas aeruginosa AmpC β-Lactamase Regulator AmpR Includes Virulence Genes". PLOS ONE. 7 (3): e34067. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...734067B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034067. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3315558. PMID 22479525.
  19. Mathee, Kalai; Cickovski, Trevor; Deoraj, Alok; Stollstorff, Melanie; Narasimhan, GiriYR 2020 (2020). "The gut microbiome and neuropsychiatric disorders: implications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)". Journal of Medical Microbiology. 69 (1): 14–24. doi:10.1099/jmm.0.001112. ISSN 1473-5644. PMC 7440676. PMID 31821133.
  20. "President's Council Worlds Ahead Faculty Award". Florida International University.
  21. "Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC) | Distinguished Fellows". Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  22. "New England Biolabs, Inc. Release: 15 Inspiring Scientists Receive Passion In Science Awards™". 13 November 2014.
  23. "73 Fellows Elected into the American Academy of Microbiology". ASM.org. February 19, 2020. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  24. "Mathee elected to American Academy of Microbiology". CASE News. March 17, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  25. "Prize winners 2023". Microbiology Society. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
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