Current Projects

Cytotoxic factors produced by cultured shark immune cells: This project’s goal is to isolate and characterize the bioactive factors that are produced by short-term cultures of shark immune cells. Mote studies have shown that these immune-cell derived factors can inhibit the growth of human tumor cell lines. Studies also focus on understanding the cellular pathways activated by these factors that result in tumor cell death. This project is in collaboration with Dr. Cathy Walsh of Mote’s Marine Immunology Program and Dr. A.B. Bodine at Clemson University. The project is funded by the Henry L. and Grace Doherty Charitable Foundation, a Florida High Tech Corridor Industry Seed Grant, and numerous matching grants.

Novel antimicrobial compounds from epidermal mucus: This project is looking at the microbial makeup of the epidermal mucus produced by stingrays in order to determine whether the mucus contains antibiotic properties that could be used in human health applications. Dr. Luer is the lead investigator on this multi-institution project that includes Mote scientists (co-investigators Dr. Cathy Walsh, Marine Immunology, Dr. Kim Ritchie, Marine Microbiology Program), Daemen College (Dr. Laura Edsberg; Dr. Jennifer Wyffels), USF Center for Biological Defense (Dr. Andy Cannons, Dr. Vicki Luna) and Clemson University (Dr. A.B. Bodine). The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Wound healing in stingrays: This project is using controlled experimental wounding to characterize the healing process of wounds penetrating the epidermal and dermal layers of skin in stingrays. Anecdotal reports of relatively rapid and infection-free healing of wounds in sharks and rays are common, yet studies to characterize the healing process are rare. This project is in collaboration with Dr. Cathy Walsh of Mote’s Marine Immunology Program and Dr. Laura Edsberg and Dr. Jennifer Wyffels at Daemen College. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.