Assistant Professor of Biology
Education
- PhD, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Pittsburgh
- BS, Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University
Courses Taught
- General Biology I
- Immunology
- Cellular and Molecular Biology
- Microbiology
- Medical Microbiology
Teaching Focus
- Dr. Blank’s teaching interests includes engaging students in evidence-based active learning strategies for both incoming freshman and upper level biology courses.
Research Interests and Publications
- Dr. Blank’s research interests include investigating the evolution of host-pathogen interactions in the eukaryotic parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. Recent publications include the following:
- Blank ML, Boyle JP. Effector variation at tandem gene arrays in tissue-dwelling coccidia: who needs antigenic variation anyway? Current Opinion in Microbiology. 46: 86-92. PMID 30317151 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2018.09.001
- Blank ML, Parker ML, Ramaswamy R, Powell CJ, English ED, Adomako-Ankomah Y, Pernas LF, Workman SD, Boothroyd JC, Boulanger MJ, Boyle JP. A Toxoplasma gondii locus required for the direct manipulation of host mitochondria has maintained multiple ancestral functions. Molecular Microbiology. PMID 29505111 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13947
- Xia J, Blank ML, Zhou LJ, Wu SZ, Peng HJ, Boyle JP. Strain-specific disruption of interferon-stimulated N-myc and STAT interactor (NMI) function by type I ROP18 in human cells. Parasitology. 1-32. PMID 32729455 DOI: 10.1017/S0031182020001249
- Coombs RS, Blank ML, English ED, Adomako-Ankomah Y, Urama IS, Martin AT, Yarovinsky F, Boyle JP. Immediate interferon gamma induction determines murine host compatibility differences between and . Infection and Immunity. PMID 32014892 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.00027-20
Previous Academic/Professional Positions
- Senior Research Assistant, Baylor College of Medicine
