Ellena M. Peterson

Picture of Ellena M. Peterson
Professor Emeritus, Pathology
School of Medicine
Associate Dean Emeritus, Admissions and Outreach
School of Medicine
Associate Director, Medical Microbiology, Pathology
Director, Clinical Laboratory Scientist Training Program, Pathology
School of Medicine
Ph.D., Georgetown University, 1978, Microbiology and Immunology
Phone: (949) 824-4169, 7450
Fax: (949) 824-2160
Email: epeterso@uci.edu
University of California, Irvine
D440 Medical Sciences I
Mail Code: 4800
Irvine, CA 92697-480
Research Interests
Chlamydia Vaccine Development, Type Three Secretion System and the Rapid Detection of Infectious Agents
Academic Distinctions
Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology

John Budd Golden Microscope Teaching Award for the Outstanding Pathology Resident Professor. June, 2010

Excellence in Medical Student Teaching Award, 2013, 2015
Research Abstract
Research interests in the clinical/applied area are the development of rapid procedures for the detection of clinically relevant pathogenic bacteria, viruses and fungi with particular interest in sexually transmitted pathogens. In the basic research area, attempts are being made to define the key structural elements of the pathogen Chlamydia at the molecular level that are important in eliciting a protective host immunological response. These include exploring components of the outer membrane of this pathogen and more recently, the type three secretion system.
Publications
Selected Peer Reviewed Publications:

Slepenkin, A., L. M. de la Maza. and E. M. Peterson. Interaction between Components of the Type III Secretion System of Chlamydiaceae. J. Bacteriology, 187: 473-479, 2005.

Slepenkin A., P.-A Enquist., U. Hägglund., L. M. de la Maza, M. Elofsson and E. M. Peterson. Reversal of the Anti-Chlamydial Activity of Putative Type Three Secretion Inhibitors by Iron. Infect. Immun., 75: 3478-3489, 2007.

Sun, G., S. Pal, A. K. Sarcon, S. Kim, E. Sugawara, H. Nikaido, M. Cocco, E. M. Peterson and L.M. de la Maza. Structural and functional analyses of the major outer membrane protein of Chlamydia trachomatis. J. Bacteriol, 189: 6222-6235, 2007.

Schro¨der, NWJ, T. R. Crother, Y. Naiki, S. Chen, M. H. Wong, A. Yilmaz, A Slepenkin, D. Schulte, Randa Alsabeh, T. M. Doherty, E. Peterson, A. E. Nel, and M. Arditi. Innate Immune responses during respiratory infection with a bacterial pathogen induce allergic airway sensitization. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 122:595-602, 2008.

Kari Laszlo, William M. Whitmire, Deborah D. Crane, Nathalie Reveneau, John H. Carlson, Morgan M. Goheen, Ellena M. Peterson, Sukumar Pal, Luis M. de la Maza, and Harlan D. Caldwell. Chlamydia trachomatis Native Major Outer Membrane Protein Induces Partial Protection in Non-Human Primates: Implication for a Trachoma Transmission Blocking Vaccine. J. Immunology 182: 8063-8070, 2009.

Sun, G., S. Pal, J. Weiland, E. M. Peterson and L.M. de la Maza. Protection against an intranasal challenge by vaccines formulated with native and recombinant preparations of the Chlamydia trachomatis major outer membrane protein. Vaccine, 27:5020-5025, 2009.

Di Russo Case, E. E. M. Peterson and M. Tan. Promoters for Chlamydia Type III Secretion Genes Show a Differential Response to DNA Supercoiling that Correlates with Temporal Expression Pattern. J. Bacteriol., 192:2569-74, 2010.

Chu, Hencelyn, Anatoly Slepenkin, Mikael Elofsson, Pia Keyser, Luis M. de la Maza and Ellena M. Peterson. Candidate vaginal microbicides with activity against Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. International J. of Antimicrobial Agents 36:145-150, 2010.

Reynolds, Courtney, Victor Quan; Diane Kim, Ellena Peterson, Julie Dunn, Matthew Whealon, Leah Terpstra, Hildy Meyers, Michele Cheung; Bruce Lee, Susan S. Huang. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Carriage in 10 Nursing Homes in Orange County, California. Infection Control Hosp Epidemiol, J. Urology 32: 91-93, 2011.

Liss MA, Alexandra Chang ,Rosanne Santos, Amy Nakama-Peeples , Ellena M. Peterson, Kathryn Osann, John Billimek, Richard J. Szabo and Atreya Dash. Prevalence and Significance of Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Escherichia coli in Patients Undergoing Transrectal Ultrasound Guided Prostate Needle Biopsy. The J. Urology, 185: 1283-1288, 2011.

Liss, Michael, Amy Peeples and Ellena M. Peterson. Detection of Fluoroquinolone Resistant Organisms from Rectal Swabs Using Selective Media Prior to a Transrectal Prostate Biopsy. J Clin Micro, 49: 116-118, 2011

Slepenkin, Anatoly, Hencelyn Chu, Mikael Elofsson, Pia Keyser, and Ellena M. Peterson. Protection of mice from a Chlamydia trachomatis vaginal infection using a salicylidene acylhydrazide, a potential microbicide. J. Infect. Dis, 204: 1313-1320, 2011.

Ur-Rehman, Tofeeq, Anatoly Slepenkin, Hencelyn Chu, Anders Blomgren, Markus K Dahlgren, Caroline E Zetterstrom, Ellena M Peterson, Mikael Elofsson and Asa Gylfe. Pre-clinical pharmacokinetics and anti-chlamydial activity of salicylidene acylhydrazide inhibitors of bacterial type III secretion. J. Antibiotics, 66:1-8, 2012.

Hua Nguyen Trang D., Kaye D. Evans, Rosalinda A. Goh, Grace L. Tan, Ellena M. Peterson. Comparison of media, temperature and length of incubation for the detection of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus. J. Clin Microbiol, 50: 2503, 2012.

Murphy CR, Eells SJ, Quan V, Kim D, Peterson E, Miller LG, Huang SS. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Burden in Nursing Homes Associated with Environmental Contamination of Common Areas. J Am Geriatr Soc. Jun;60(6):1012-8, 2012

Forthal, Donald N., Tran B. Phan, Anatoly V. Slepenkin, Gary Landucci, Hencelyn Chu, Mikael Elofsson, and Ellena M. Peterson. In vitro anti-HIV-1 activity of salicylidene acylhydrazide compounds. International J. Antimicrobial Agents, 40(4):354-60, 2012.

Liss, Michael, Kristen Nakamura, and Ellena Peterson. A Comparison of Broth Enhancement to Direct Plating for the Screening of Rectal Cultures for Ciprofloxacin Resistant E. coli. J Clin Micro, 51(1):249-52, 2013.

Pedersen, Christian, Anatoly Slepenkin, Sara B. E. Andersson, Jonas H. Fagerberg, Christel A., S. Bergström and Ellena M. Peterson. Formulation of the microbicide INP0341 for in vivo protection against a vaginal challenge by Chlamydia trachomatis. PLoS One. 2014 Oct 30;9(10):e110918. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0110918. eCollection 2014. PMID: 25356686

Hanson Brett R., Anatoly Slepenkin, Ellena M. Peterson, Ming Tan. Chlamydia trachomatis Type III Secretion Proteins Regulate Transcription, J Bact, 197: 3238-44, 2015 doi: 10.1128/JB.00379-15.

Johnston AR, Al Saghbini S, Wu ML, Peterson EM. Photo Quiz: False Intestinal Brush Border. Intestinal spirochetosis. J Clin Microbiol. 2015 Dec;53(12):3711, 3956. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00005-14. PMID: 26582903

Cerqueira GC, Earl AM, Ernst CM, Grad YH, Dekker JP, Feldgarden M, Chapman SB, Reis-Cunha JL, Shea TP, Young S, Zeng Q, Delaney ML, Kim D, Peterson EM, O'Brien TF, Ferraro MJ, Hooper DC, Huang SS, Kirby JE, Onderdonk AB, Birren BW, Hung DT, Cosimi LA, Wortman JR, Murphy CI, Hanage WP. Multi-institute analysis of carbapenem resistance reveals remarkable diversity, unexplained mechanisms, and limited clonal outbreaks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Jan 31;114(5):1135-1140. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1616248114. Epub 2017 Jan 17. PMID: 28096418.

Henderson MC, Kelly CJ, Griffin E, Hall TR, Jerant A, Peterson EM, Rainwater JA, Sousa FJ, Wofsy D, Franks P. Medical School Applicant Characteristics Associated With Performance in Multiple Mini-Interviews Versus Traditional Interviews: A Multi-Institutional Study. Acad Med. 2018 Jul;93(7):1029-1034. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000002041. PMID: 29095170

Khan S, Nakasone A, Ghajar M, Zhowandai M, Prabhu S, Alexander R, Low J, Peterson E, Thrupp L. Time to Detection in Culture Supports Prediction of Low Transmissibility of Tuberculosis and Discontinuation of Isolation for Low-Risk Patients With A Single AFB-Negative and NAAT-Negative Respiratory Specimen. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2018 May;39(5):619-621. doi: 10.1017/ice.2018.37. Epub 2018 Mar 19.PMID: 29553039

Huang, Susan S., Raveena Singh, James A. McKinnell, Steven Park, Adrijana Gombosev , Samantha J. Eells , Daniel L. Gillen, Diane Kim, Syma Rashid, Raul Macias-Gil ,Michael A. Bolaris, Thomas Tjoa, Chenghua Cao, Suzie S. Hong , Jennifer Lequieu , Eric Cui, Justin Chang, Jiayi He, Kaye Evans, Ellena Peterson, Gail Simpson, Philip Robinson, Chester Choi, Charles C. Bailey Jr., James D. Leo, Alpesh Amin, Donald Goldmann, John A. Jernigan,Richard Platt Edward Septimus ,Robert A. Weinstein, Mary K. Hayden, Loren G. Miller for the AHRQ Healthcare-Associated Infections Program. Education Versus Education Plus Decolonization to Reduce Post-Discharge Infections in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Carriers. N Engl J Med. 2019 Feb 14;380(7):638-650. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1716771

T. Abram, H. Cherukury, C. Ou, T. Vu, M. Toledano, Y. Li, J. T. Grunwald, M. Toosky, D. Tifrea, A. Slepenkin, J. Chong, L. Kong, D. Del Pozo, K. Thai La, L. Labanieh, J. Zimak, B. Shen, S. Huang, E. Gratton, E. Peterson and W. Zhao. Rapid bacterial detection and antibiotic susceptibility testing in whole blood using one-step, high throughput blood digital PCR. Lab Chip, 2020, DOI: 10.1039/C9LC01212E.

Selected Books and Book Chapters:

Laboratory Diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis Infections. (eds.) Curt A. Gleaves, Ann Warford, Max Chernesky, and Ellena M. Peterson. American Society for Microbiology Press, Washington D.C., 1999.

Clinical Microbiology Procedures Handbook. Second Edition. Henry D. Isenberg (ed in chief), E.M. Peterson (section ed). Chlamydia Culture, pp 85-96. American Society for Microbiology Press, Washington D.C., 2003.

The Color Atlas of Bacteriology, edition 3. L. M. de la Maza, M. P. Pezzlo, C. Bittencourt and E. M. Peterson. ASM Press and Wiley and Sons , Washington D.C, 2020.
Professional Societies
American Society for Microbiology
American Venereal Disease Association
Last updated
01/03/2021