Publications

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1undergraduate author at Oxy; 2mentored student author; #contributed equally to manuscript

Publications from Postdoctoral Work

1undergraduate or Master's student author; 2co-mentored undergraduate or Master's student author #contributed equally to manuscript; *completed at Oxy

Repurposing Diflunisal as an Antivirulence Agent Against Staphylococcus aureus.

Sun D, Haste NM, Sun J, Serafim MSM, Salvioni A, Olson J, Cole J, Okumura C, Gallo RL, Sakoulas G, O'Donoghue AJ, Hensler ME, Nizet V.

Infect Microbes Dis. 2025 Mar;7(1):43-53. doi: 10.1097/im9.0000000000000174. Epub 2025 Jan 27.

PMID: 40808982 

Antimicrobial salvage therapy for persistent staphylococcal bacteremia using daptomycin plus ceftaroline.

Sakoulas G, Moise PA, Casapao AM, Nonejuie P, Olson J, Okumura CY, Rybak MJ, Kullar R, Dhand A, Rose WE, Goff DA, Bressler AM, Lee Y, Pogliano J, Johns S, Kaatz GW, Ebright JR, Nizet V.

Clin Ther. 2014 Oct 1;36(10):1317-33. doi: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2014.05.061. Epub 2014 Jul 10.

PMID: 25017183

*Subterfuge and sabotage: evasion of host innate defenses by invasive gram-positive bacterial pathogens.

Okumura CY, Nizet V.

Annu Rev Microbiol. 2014;68:439-58. doi: 10.1146/annurev-micro-092412-155711. Epub 2014 Jun 18.

PMID: 25002085 

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Novel role for the yceGH tellurite resistance genes in the pathogenesis of Bacillus anthracis.

Franks SE, Ebrahimi C, Hollands A, Okumura CY, Aroian RV, Nizet V, McGillivray SM.

Infect Immun. 2014 Mar;82(3):1132-40. doi: 10.1128/IAI.01614-13. Epub 2013 Dec 23.

PMID: 24366250 

Nafcillin enhances innate immune-mediated killing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Sakoulas G, Okumura CY, Thienphrapa W, Olson J, Nonejuie P, Dam Q, Dhand A, Pogliano J, Yeaman MR, Hensler ME, Bayer AS, Nizet V.

J Mol Med (Berl). 2014 Feb;92(2):139-49. doi: 10.1007/s00109-013-1100-7. Epub 2013 Dec 3.

PMID: 24297496 

*IgG protease Mac/IdeS is not essential for phagocyte resistance or mouse virulence of M1T1 group A Streptococcus.

Okumura CY, Anderson EL, Döhrmann S1, Tran DN, Olson J, von Pawel-Rammingen U, Nizet V.

mBio. 2013 Jul 30;4(4):e00499-13. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00499-13.

PMID: 23900173

Regulation of ATG4B stability by RNF5 limits basal levels of autophagy and influences susceptibility to bacterial infection.

Kuang E, #Okumura CY, Sheffy-Levin S, Varsano T, Shu VC, Qi J, Niesman IR, Yang HJ, López-Otín C, Yang WY, Reed JC, Broday L, Nizet V, Ronai ZA.

PLoS Genet. 2012;8(10):e1003007. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003007. Epub 2012 Oct 18.

PMID: 23093945

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A novel role for the transcription factor HIF-1α in the formation of mast cell extracellular traps.

Branitzki-Heinemann K2, Okumura CY, Völlger L, Kawakami Y, Kawakami T, Naim HY, Nizet V, Von Köckritz-Blickwede M.

Biochem J. 2012 Aug 15;446(1):159-63. doi: 10.1042/BJ20120658.

PMID: 22738198

Novel phenol-soluble modulin derivatives in community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus identified through imaging mass spectrometry.

Gonzalez DJ, Okumura CY, Hollands A, Kersten R, Akong-Moore K, Pence MA, Malone CL, Derieux J, Moore BS, Horswill AR, Dixon JE, Dorrestein PC, Nizet V.

J Biol Chem. 2012 Apr 20;287(17):13889-98. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M112.349860. Epub 2012 Feb 27.

PMID: 22371493

A new pharmacological agent (AKB-4924) stabilizes hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) and increases skin innate defenses against bacterial infection.

Okumura CY, Hollands A, Tran DN, Olson J, Dahesh S, von Köckritz-Blickwede M, Thienphrapa W, Corle C, Jeung SN, Kotsakis A, Shalwitz RA, Johnson RS, Nizet V.

J Mol Med (Berl). 2012 Sep;90(9):1079-89. doi: 10.1007/s00109-012-0882-3. Epub 2012 Feb 28.

PMID: 22371073

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Pharmacological inhibition of the ClpXP protease increases bacterial susceptibility to host cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides and cell envelope-active antibiotics.

McGillivray SM, Tran DN, Ramadoss NS, Alumasa JN, Okumura CY, Sakoulas G, Vaughn MM, Zhang DX, Keiler KC, Nizet V.

Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2012 Apr;56(4):1854-61. doi: 10.1128/AAC.05131-11. Epub 2012 Jan 17.

PMID: 22252821

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Study of the IgG endoglycosidase EndoS in group A streptococcal phagocyte resistance and virulence.

Sjögren J2, Okumura CY, Collin M, Nizet V, Hollands A.

BMC Microbiol. 2011 May 27;11:120. doi: 10.1186/1471-2180-11-120.

PMID: 21619648 

Doctoral Publications

#contributed equally to manuscript

Galectin-1 on cervical epithelial cells is a receptor for the sexually transmitted human parasite Trichomonas vaginalis.

Okumura CY, Baum LG, Johnson PJ.

Cell Microbiol. 2008 Oct;10(10):2078-90. doi: 10.1111/j.1462-5822.2008.01190.x. Epub 2008 Jul 10.

PMID: 18637021

Draft genome sequence of the sexually transmitted pathogen Trichomonas vaginalis.

Carlton JM, Hirt RP, Silva JC, Delcher AL, Schatz M, Zhao Q, Wortman JR, Bidwell SL, Alsmark UC, Besteiro S, Sicheritz-Ponten T, Noel CJ, Dacks JB, Foster PG, Simillion C, Van de Peer Y, Miranda-Saavedra D, Barton GJ, Westrop GD, Müller S, Dessi D, Fiori PL, Ren Q, Paulsen I, Zhang H, Bastida-Corcuera FD, Simoes-Barbosa A, Brown MT, Hayes RD, Mukherjee M, Okumura CY, Schneider R, Smith AJ, Vanacova S, Villalvazo M, Haas BJ, Pertea M, Feldblyum TV, Utterback TR, Shu CL, Osoegawa K, de Jong PJ, Hrdy I, Horvathova L, Zubacova Z, Dolezal P, Malik SB, Logsdon JM Jr, Henze K, Gupta A, Wang CC, Dunne RL, Upcroft JA, Upcroft P, White O, Salzberg SL, Tang P, Chiu CH, Lee YS, Embley TM, Coombs GH, Mottram JC, Tachezy J, Fraser-Liggett CM, Johnson PJ.

Science. 2007 Jan 12;315(5809):207-12. doi: 10.1126/science.1132894.

PMID: 17218520 

Trichomonas vaginalis lipophosphoglycan mutants have reduced adherence and cytotoxicity to human ectocervical cells.

Bastida-Corcuera FD, #Okumura CY, Colocoussi A, Johnson PJ.

Eukaryot Cell. 2005 Nov;4(11):1951-8. doi: 10.1128/EC.4.11.1951-1958.2005.

PMID: 16278462

Undergraduate Publications

Evidence for selective transformation of autoreactive immature plasma cells in mice deficient in Fasl.

Zhang JQ, Okumura C, McCarty T, Shin MS, Mukhopadhyay P, Hori M, Torrey TA, Naghashfar Z, Zhou JX, Lee CH, Roopenian DC, Morse HC 3rd, Davidson WF.

J Exp Med. 2004 Dec 6;200(11):1467-78. doi: 10.1084/jem.20041575.

PMID: 15583018

Differentiation, Distribution, and Elimination of Two Different Pineapple mealybug wilt-associated viruses Found in Pineapple.

Sether DM, Karasev AV, Okumura C, Arakawa C, Zee F, Kislan MM, Busto JL, Hu JS. 

Plant Dis. 2001 85:856-864. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS.2001.85.8.856.