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Jason F. Huntley, PhD

Jason F. Huntley
Jason F. Huntley, PhD

Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development

Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology

Contact

Microbial Pathogenesis & Immunology
8447 John Sharp Parkway
Clinical Building 1 Room 2515
Bryan, TX 77807
Jason.Huntley@tamu.edu
Phone: 979.436.9561

Biography

Jason Huntley, PhD, holds dual positions as senior associate dean of faculty affairs and faculty development at the Texas A&M College of Medicine and also as a Professor in the department of Microbial Pathogenesis & Immunology.

In this role as senior associate dean of faculty affairs, he is responsible for all aspects of mentoring and supervising staff and faculty in the College of Medicine Office of Faculty Affairs and the Office of Professional Development, including developing and implementing policy changes and guidelines, overseeing faculty searches and promotion and tenure review, assisting with faculty retention programs and consulting on faculty grievances.

He comes to Texas A&M after 14 years at the University of Toledo, where he was a tenured professor of microbiology and, since 2022, associate dean of faculty affairs and development.

Education and Training

  • Iowa State University , B.S., Biology, 1996
  • Iowa State University, Master of Science in veterinary microbiology , 1999
  • Iowa State University, PhD in veterinary pathology , 2004
  • The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Infectious Disease Fellowship, 2010

Research Interests

  • Host-pathogen interaction studies to understand how membrane proteins contribute of Francisella tularensis (tularemia) infections;
  • Vector transmission studies to understand how F. tularensis infects, persists, replicates in, and is transmitted by different tick vectors (Dermacentor variabilis, Amblyomma americanum) to humans.
  • Development and testing of new therapeutics and vaccines against tularemia.
  • Use of naturally-occurring bacteria to remove and degrade cyanobacterial toxins, including microcystin-LR (MC-LR), from water supplies.

Awards, Recognition and Service

  • Academic Leadership Development Program Fellow, Mid-American Conference (MAC), 2018-2019
  • President’s Award for Excellence in Grantsmanship, University of Toledo, 2017
  • Dean’s Award for Excellence in New Investigator Research, University of Toledo College of Medicine, 2016

Patents

  • US 11,125,750 B2. Methods, Assays, and Kits for Detecting Exposure to Cyanotoxins. Issued September 21, 2021
  • US 11,001,515 B1. Methods for Using Bacteria that Degrade Microcystin and Biofilters Utilizing Same. Issued May 11, 2021

Representative Publications

A complete list of Dr. Huntley’s publications can be found at:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1Nk4vBtu3D0kg/bibliography/public/

Thenuwara S, Shrestha U, Westrick J, Huntley J, Isailovic D.  2024.  Identification of Novel Peptides Originated from Biodegradation of Microcystins using UHPLC-HRMS/MS.  ACS ES&T Water.  In press.  

Chavez ASO, Wang X, Marnin L, Archer NK, Hammond HL, Carroll, EEM, Shaw D, Tully B, Buskirk AD, Ford S, Butler LR, Shahi P, Morozova K, Clement CC, Lawres L, O’Neal A, Mamoun CB, Mason K, 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 L, Santambrogio L, Pedra JHF.  2021.  Tick extracellular vesicles enable arthropod feeding and promote distinct outcomes of bacterial infection.  Nature Communications.  12(1): 3696.  June 17.  DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23900-8.  PMID: 34140472.  

Zellner B, Mengin-Lecreulx D, Tully B, Gunning WT, Booth R, and Huntley JF.  2021.  A Francisella tularensis L,D-carboxypeptidase plays important roles in cell morphology, envelope integrity, and virulence.  Molecular Microbiology.  115(6): 1357-1378.  DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14685.  PMID: 33469978.

Tully BG and Huntley JF.  2020.  A Francisella tularensis Chitinase Contributes to Bacterial Persistence and Replication in Two Major U.S. Tick Vectors.  Pathogens,  9(12), 1037.  DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9121037.  PMID 33321814.  PMCID: PMC7764610.  

Tully BG and Huntley JF.  2020.  Mechanisms Affecting the Acquisition, Persistence and Transmission of Francisella tularensis in Ticks.  Microorganisms, 8(11), 1639.  DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8111639.  PMID: 33114018.  PMCID: PMC7690693.

McCartney AT, Yeo J-Y, Blomquist TM, and Huntley JF.  2020.  Whole-Genome Sequencing of Bacterial Isolates that Degrade the Cyanobacterial Microcystin Toxin MC-LR.  Microbiology Resource Announcements.  Oct 1; 9(40):e00959-20.  doi:10.1128/MRA.00959-20.  PMID: 33004461.  PMCID: PMC7530933.  

Zellner B and Huntley JF.  2019.  Ticks and Tularemia: Do We Know What We Don't Know?  Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology  May 8; 9:146. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00146.  PMID: 31139576.  PMCID: PMC6517804.  

Thees A, Atari E, Birbeck J, Westrick JA, and Huntley JF.  2019.  Isolation and characterization of Lake Erie bacteria that degrade the cyanobacterial microcystin toxin MC-LR.  Journal of Great Lakes Research  45(1): 138-149.  doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2018.10.013.  PMID: 32753778  PMCID: PMC7402192.