Sheryl S. Justice, Ph. D.

Sheryl Justice, PhD is a Principal Investigator at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Urology at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Justice is a member of The Center for Microbial Interface Biology. Dr. Justice’s research focuses on characterization of the bacterial and host factors required for the Uropathogenic Escherichia coli developmental pathway, the mechanisms of innate immune evasion, in addition to deciphering the molecular signals produced by both host and pathogen that occur at the host-pathogen interface. The ultimate goal is to use this information to rationally identify novel therapeutic regimens.

View CV »

Gender:

• Female

Languages Spoken:

• English

Research Center:

• Center for Microbial Pathogenesis

Areas of Interest:

• More than 4.5 million women and children will seek treatment for a urinary tract infection (UTI), accounting for almost 2 billion dollars in medical expenditures each year. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the most common causative agent, accounting for up to 80% of all reported cases. In addition to an increase in the number of antibiotic resistant organisms that cause UTI, clinicians are frustrated by the significant recurrence that occurs within the first year of presentation with a UTI. Many women use antibiotics daily to reduce the rate of recurrence, only to succumb to infection upon discontinuing antibiotic treatment. UTIs have been classically described as self-limiting, extracellular infections that recur due to re-introduction of bacteria into the bladder. This paradigm for UTIs has been challenged due to the mounting information obtained by investigations of murine cystitis using strains of UPEC isolated from the urine of women seeking treatment for cystitis. Multiple studies have demonstrated that UPEC invades into the superficial bladder epithelial cells. While free in the epithelial cell cytoplasm, UPEC growth proceeds through a complex developmental and differentiation pathway, leading to the establishment of a chronic, quiescent infection in the bladder tissue. This chronic infection can be the source of organisms for a recurrent infection, demonstrating that current treatments need to be modified to aide in curing and/or preventing recurrent UTIs. The innate immune response is primarily responsible for the control of infectious agents in the urinary tract. UPEC has devised multiple strategies to combat these defenses to establish infection. Initially, UPEC suppress the production of cytokines produced by bladder epithelial cells to recruit infiltration of neutrophils. Secondly, residence in the intracellular environment allows for survival from innate immune-mediated killing. Lastly, during this developmental cycle, filamentous UPEC are observed in hosts with an intact immune response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), suggesting that bacteria and host recognize and respond to each other. Real-time video microscopic evaluation of infected murine bladders revealed that filamentous UPEC may also play a role in evasion of the innate immune-mediated killing. My laboratory will focus on characterization of the bacterial and host factors required for the UPEC developmental pathway, the mechanisms of innate immune evasion, in addition to deciphering the molecular signals produced by both host and pathogen that occur at the host-pathogen interface. The ultimate goal is to use this information to rationally identify novel therapeutic regimens. Lab Web Site: http://www.NationwideChildrens.org/Justice-Lab

Graduate School

• University of Missouri-Kansas City
  Date Completed: 06/30/1994

Post Doctoral

• University of Connecticut, School of Medicine
  Date Completed: 06/30/2001

Fellowship

• Washington University in St. Louis
  Date Completed: 06/30/2006

• Horvath Jr. DJ, Dabdoub SM, Li B, VanderBrink BA and Justice SS. 2012. New paradigms of urinary tract infections: Implications for patient management.  Indian Journal of Urology. (Unspecified)
• Storm DW, Patel AS, Horvath Jr. DJ, Li B, Koff SA and Justice SS. 2012. Relationship among bacterial virulence, bladder function and patterns of urinary tract infection in children.  Journal of Urology. (Formally Accepted)
• Justice SS and Hunstad DA. 2012. UPEC hemolysin: More than just for making holes.  Cell Host and Microbe. Vol. 11, no. 1. (January): 4-5. (IF: 13.728)
• Bolton, M, Horvath Jr. DJ, Li B, Cortado N, Newsom D, white P, Partida-Sanchez S, and Justice SS. 2012. Intrauterine growth restriction is a direct consequence of localized maternal uropathogenic Escherichia coli cystitis.  PLoS One. (Formally Accepted)
• Goodman SD, Obergfell KP, Jurcisek JA, Novotny LA, Downey JS, Ayala EA, Tjokro N, Li B, Justice SS, Bakaletz LO. 2011. Biofilms can be dispersed by focusing the immune system on a common family of bacterial nucleoid associated proteins.  Mucosal Immunity. Vol. 6, no. 4. (November): 625-637. (IF: 6.818)
• Storm DW, Koff SA, Horvath Jr. DJ, Li B, and Justice SS. 2011. An in vitro analysis of the bactericidal activity of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 against pediatric uropathogens.  Journal of Urology. no. 186(4 Suppl). (October): 1678-1683. (IF: 3.05)
• Spencer JD, Schwaderer A, DiRosario J, McHugh KM, McGillivary G, Justice SS, Carpenter A, Baker P, Harder J, and Hains DS. 2011. Ribonuclease 7: a potent antimicrobial peptide within the human urinary tract.  Kidney International. Vol. 80, no. 2. (July): 174-180. (IF: 6.4)
• Storm DW, Patel AS, Koff SA and Justice SS. 2011. Novel management of urinary tract infections.  Current Opinions in Urology. Vol. 4, no. 21. (July): 328-333. (IF: 2.5)
• Horvath Jr. DJ, Li B, Partida-Sanchez S, Hunstad DA, Hultgren SJ and Justice SS. 2011. Morphological plasticity promotes resistance to phagocyte killing of uropathogenic Escherichia coli.  Microbes and Infection. Vol. 5, no. 13. (May): 426-437. (IF: 3.05)
• Dabdoub SM, Ray WC and Justice SS. 2011. FIND: A new software tool and development platform for enhanced multicolor flow analysis.  BMC Bioinformatics. Vol. 12, no. 10. (May): 145. (IF: 3.43)
• Dabdoub S, Justice SS, Ray WC. 2011. A dynamically masked gaussian can efficiently approximate a distance calculation for image segmentation.  Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. no. 696. : 425-432. (IF: 1.379)
• Dabdoub S, VanderBrink BA, Justice SS, and Ray WC. 2011. Quantitating pathogenic biofilm architecture in biopsied tissue.  Visual Analytics in Healthcare. (Formally Accepted)
• Anderson GG, Goller CC, Justice S, Hultgren SJ, and Seed PC. 2010. Polysaccharide capsule and sialic acid-mediated regulation promote intracellular bacterial communities during cystitis.  Infection and Immunity. Vol. 3, no. 78. (March): 963-975. http://iai.asm.org/cgi/content/full/78/3/963?view=long&pmid=20086090. (IF: 3.996)
• Li B, Smith P, Horvath Jr. DJ, Romesberg F, and Justice SS. 2010. SOS regulatory elements are essential for UPEC pathogenesis.  Microbes and Infection. Vol. 12, no. 8-9. : 662-668. (IF: 3.045)
• Dabdoub S, and Justice SS. 2010. FIND: A new software tool and development platform for enhanced multicolor flow analysis.  Flow Cytometry. (IF: 2.98) (Unspecified)
• Justice S and Hunstad D. 2010. Intracellular lifestyles and immune evasion strategies of uropathogenic Escherichia coli.  Annual Review Microbiology. Vol. 13, no. 64. Edited by Susan Gottesman. (January): 203-221. (IF: 14.362)
• Horvath Jr. DJ, Li B, Partida-Sanchez S, Hunstad DA, Hultgren SJ, and Justice SS. 2010. Morphological Plasticity Promotes Resistance to Phagocyte Killing of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli.  PLOS pathogens. (IF: 9.34) (Unspecified)
• Horvath, Jr. D, Li B, Hunstad D, Partida-Sanchez S, and Justice S. 2009. Filamentous UPEC Evade Killing by Phagocytes.  Plos Pathogens. (IF: 6.02) (Formally Accepted)
• Anderson, G; Justice, S; Hultgren, S, and Seed PC. 2008. Exopolysaccharide capsule and sialic 10. Acid signaling contribute to key intracellular and extracellular pathways used by uropathogenic Escherichia coli during experimental cystitis.  Journal of Womens Health. Vol. 8, no. 17. (October): 1251-1251.
• Justice SS, Hunstad DA, Cegelski L and Hultgren SJ. 2008. Morphological plasticity as bacterial survival strategy.  Nature Reviews in Microbiology. Vol. 6. (February): 162-168. (IF: 14.959)
• Justice SS, Hunstad DA, Cegelski L, Hultgren, SJ. 2008. Morphological plasticity as a bacterial survival strategy.  Nat Rev Microbiol. Vol. 6, no. 2. (February): 162-168. (IF: 14.959)
• Justice SS, Hunstad DA, Seed PC and Hultgren SJ. 2007. Filamentation by E. coli subverts innate defenses during urinary tract infections.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. Vol. 52, no. 103. : 19884-19889. (IF: 9.598)
• Justice SS, Lauer SR, Hultgren SJ and Hunstad DA. 2006. Maturation of intracellular Escherichia coli communities requires SurA.  Infection and Immunity. Vol. 9, no. 74. : 4793-4800. (IF: 3.996)
• Justice SS, Lauer SR, Hultgren SJ, Hunstad DA. (2006) Maturation of intracellular Escherichia coli communities requires SurA Infection and Immunity Aug;74(8):4793-800. PubMed ID: 16861667
• Hunstad DA, Justice SS, Hung CS, Lauer SR and Hultgren SJ. 2005. Suppression of bladder epithelial cytokine responses by uropathogenic Escherichia coli.  Infection and Immunity. Vol. 7, no. 73. : 3999-4006. (IF: 3.996)
• Justice SS, Hunstad DA, Reiss Harper J, Duguay A, Pinkner JS, Bann J, Frieden C, Silhavy TJ and Hultgren SJ. 2005. Periplasmic peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerases are not essential for viability but are required for pilus biogenesis in Escherichia coli.  Journal of Bacteriology. Vol. 22, no. 187. : 7680-7686. (IF: 4.013)
• Justice SS CS, Theriot JA, Fletcher DA, Anderson GG, Footer MJ and Hultgren SJ. 2004. From the cover: Differentiation and developmental pathways of uropathogenic E. coli in urinary tract pathogenesis.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. Vol. 5, no. 101. : 1333-1338. (IF: 9.598)
• Justice SS, Dodson KW, Chapman MR, Barnhart MM and SJ Hultgren. 2003. Assembly of Adhesive Organelles on Gram Negative Bacteria. In Protein Secretion Pathways in Bacteria. First ed. Edited by Bauke Oudega. New York, New York, USA: Kluwer Academic Publishers. 207-232.
• Schilling JD, Martin SM, Hunstad DA, Patel KP, Mulvey MA, Justice SS, Lorenz RG and Hultgren SJ. 2003. CD14- and toll-like receptor- dependent activation of bladder epithelial cells by lipopolysaccharide and type 1-piliated E. coli.  Infection and Immunity. Vol. 3, no. 71. : 1470-1480. (IF: 3.996)
• Justice SS, Garcia-Lara J and Rothfield LI. 2000. Cell division inhibitors SulA and MinC/MinD block septum formation at different steps in the assembly of the Escherichia coli division machinery.  Molecular Microbiology. Vol. 2, no. 37. : 410-423. (IF: 5.462)
• Rothfield L, Justice SS and García-Lara J. 1999. Bacterial cell division.  Annual Review in Genetics. no. 33. : 423-448. (IF: 18.302)
• Rothfield L and Justice SS. 1997. Bacterial Cell Division: The cycle of the Ring.  Cell. no. 88. : 581-858. (IF: 29.887)
• Stader J and Justice SS. 1994. Export and trimerization pathways of maltoporin overlap in the inner membrane of Escherichia coli.  Journal of Molecular Biology. no. 238. : 555-562. (IF: 4.472)
• Stader J, Justice SS and Wei S. 1992. The use of hybrid proteins to isolate kinetic export intermediates.  NATO ASI Series, Dynamics of Membrane Assembly Series H: Cell Biology. no. 63. : 256-276.
• Sheryl Justice, artist. 2009. "Microcsopic Battlefield." Lucite, 6' x 6'. Nationwide Children's Hospital, Permanent. Columbus, Ohio.