THE HOLFORD LABORATORY
Featured Covers
Selected Publications
TAXONOMY, PHYLOGENY, AND BIOCHEMICAL FUNCTION OF VENOMOUS MARINE SNAILS
- Anand P, Filipenko P, Huaman J, Lyudmer M, Hossain M, Santamaria C, Huang K, Ogunwobi OO, Holford M. Selective Inhibition of Liver Cancer Cells Using Venom Peptide. Marine Drugs, 17 October 2019. PubMed PMID: 31627357.
- Modica MV, Gorson J, Fedosov AE, Malcolm G, Terryn Y, Puillandre N, Holford M. Macroevolutionary analyses suggest environmental factors, not venom apparatus, play key role in Terebridae marine snail diversification. Systematic Biology, 5 September 2019. PubMed PMID: 31504987.
- Napolitano T, Holford M. Breakthroughs in Venom Peptide Screening Methods to Advance Future Drug Discovery. Protein and Peptide Letters, 1 December 2018. PubMed PMID: 30381057.
- Angell Y, Holford M, Moos WH. Building on Success: A Bright Future for Peptide Therapeutics. Protein and Peptide Letters, 1 December 2018. PubMed PMID: 30430932.
- Eriksson A, Anand P, Gorson J, Grijuc C, Hadelia E, Stewart JC, Holford M, Claridge-Chang A. Using Drosophila behavioral assays to characterize terebrid venom-peptide bioactivity. Nature Scientific Reports, 15 October 2018. PubMed PMID: 30323294.
- Holford M, Daly M, King G, Norton R. Venoms to the rescue. Science, 31 August 2018. PubMed PMID: 30166472.
- Verdes A, Holford M. Beach to Bench to Bedside: Marine Invertebrate Biochemical Adaptations and Their Applications in Biotechnology and Biomedicine. Marine Organisms as Model Systems in Biology and Medicine, 7 August 2018. PubMed PMID: 30083928.
- Angell Y, Holford M, Moos WH. Peptides 2020: A Clear Therapeutic Vision. Protein & Peptide Letters, 2018. PubMed PMID: 30706773.
- Verdes A, Simpson D, Holford M. Are Fireworms Venomous? Evidence for the Convergent Evolution of Toxin Homologs in Three Species of Fireworms (Annelida, Amphinomidae). Genome Biology and Evolution, 23 December 2017. PubMed PMID: 29293976.
- Leffler AE, Kuryatov A, Zebroski HA, Powell SR, Filipenko P, Hussein AK, Gorson J, Heizmann A, Lyskov S, Tsien R, Poget SF, Nicke A, Lindstrom J, Rudy B, Bonneau R, Holford M. Discovery of Peptide Ligands Through Docking and Virtual Screening at Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Homology Models. PNAS, 5 September 2017. PubMed PMID: 28874590.
- Verdes A, Anand P, Gorson J, Jannetti S, Kelly P, Leffler A, Simpson D, Ramrattan G, Holford M. From Mollusks to Medicine: A Venomics Approach for the Discovery and Characterization of Therapeutics from Terebridae Peptide Toxins. Toxins, 19 April 2016. PubMed PMID: 27104567.
- Gorson J, Holford M. Small Packages, Big Returns: Uncovering the Venom Diversity of Small Invertebrate Conoidean Snails. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 1 July 2016. PubMed PMID: 27371389.
- Moon J, Gorson J, Wright M, Yee L, Khawaja S, Shin HY, Karma Y, Musunri R, Yun M, Holford M. Characterization and Recombinant Expression of Terebrid Venom Peptide from Terebra Guttata. Toxins, 3 March 2016. PubMed PMID: 26950153.
- Fry B, Koludarov I, Jackson T, Holford M, Terrat Y, Casewell N, Unheim E, Vetter I, Ali S, Low D, Sunagar K. Seeing the Woods for the Trees: Understanding Venom Evolution as a Guide for Biodiversity. Royal Society of Chemistry, 10 February 2015.
- Kelly P, Anand P, Uvaydov A, Chakravartula S, Sherpa C, Pires E, O’Neil A, Douglas T, Holford M. Developing a Dissociative Nanocontainer for Peptide Drug Delivery. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 9 October 2015. PubMed PMID: 26473893.
- Anand P, O’Neil A, Lin E, Douglas T, Holford M. Tailored delivery of analgesic ziconotide across a blood brain barrier model using viral nanocontainers. Nature Scientific Reports, 3 August 2015. PubMed PMID: 26234920.
- Gorson J, Ramrattan G, Verdes A, Wright ME, Kantor Y, Srinivasan R, Musunuri R, Packer D, Albano G, Qiu WG, Holford M. Molecular Diversity and Gene Evolution of the Venom Arsenal of Terebridae Predatory Marine Snails. Genome Biology and Evolution, 28 May 2015. PubMed PMID: 26025559.
- Modica MV, Puillandre N, Castelin M, Zhang Y, Holford M. A Good Compromise: Rapid and Robust Species Proxies for Inventorying Biodiversity Hotspots Using the Terebridae (Gastropoda: Conoidea). PLoS ONE, 8 July 2014. PubMed PMID: 25003611.
- Anand P, Grigoryan A, Bhuiyan MH, Ueberheide B, Russell V, Quinonez J, Moy P, Chait B, Poget S, Holford M. Sample limited characterization of a novel disulfide-rich venom peptide toxin from terebrid marine snail Terebra variegata. PLoS ONE, 8 April 2014. PubMed PMID: 24713808.
- Puillandre N, Modica MV, Zhang Y, Sirovich L, Boisselier MC, Cruad C, Holford M, Samadi S. Large-scale species delimitation method for hyperdiverse groups. Molecular Ecology, 11 April 2012. PubMed PMID: 22494453.
- Castelin M, Puillandre N, Kantor YI, Modica MV, Terryn Y, Cruaud C, Bouchet P, Holford M. Macroevolution of Venom Apparatus in Auger Snails (Gastropoda; Conoidea; Terebridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 14 March 2012. PubMed PMID: 22440724.
- Bhuiyan M, Anand,P, Grigoryan A, Zhuang J, Holford M, Poget S. NMR Structure of VarI, a Novel Bioactive Peptide Toxin from Terebrid Marine Snails. Biophysical Journal, 29 February 2012.
- Puillandre N, Holford M. The Terebridae and Teretoxins: Combining Phylogeny and Anatomy for the Concerted Discovery of Bioactive Compounds. BMC Chemical Biology, 17 September 2010. PubMed PMID: 20849634.
- Modica MV, Holford M. The Neogastropoda: Evolutionary Innovations of Predatory Marine Snails with Remarkable Pharmacological Potential. Evolutionary Biology – Concepts, Molecular and Morphological Evolution, 25 July 2010.
- Holford M, Auer S, Laqua M, Ibanez-Tallon I. Manipulating Neuronal Circuits with Endogenous and Recombinant Cell-Surface Tethered Modulators. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 20 October 2009. PubMed PMID: 19915728.
- Holford M, Puillande N, Modica MV, Watkins M, Collins R, Bermingham E, Olivera BM. Correlating Molecular Phylogeny with Venom Apparatus Occurence in Panamic Auger Snails (Terebridae). PLoS ONE, 5 November 2009. PubMed PMID: 19890382.
- Holford M, Puillandre N, Terryn Y, Cruaud C, Olivera BM, Bouchet P. Evolution of the Toxoglossa Venom Apparatus as Inferred by Molecular Phylogeny of the Terebridae. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 6 October 2009. PubMed PMID: 18840603.
- Kholer F, Holford M, Van Tuo D, Thanh HH. Exploring a Largely Unknown Fauna: On the Diversity of Pachychilid Freshwater Gastropods in Vietnam (Caenogastropoda: Cerithioidea). Molluscan Research, 30 September 2009.
- Holford M, Zhang M, Catlin P, Azam L, Hanuman K, Green G, Watkins BR, Oqnby M, Yoshikami JP, Bulaj G, Oluvera BM. Pruning Nature: Biodiversity-Delivered Discovery of Novel Sodium Channel-Blocking Conotoxin from Conus bullatus. Toxicon, 20 November 2008. PubMed PMID: 18950653.
- Holford M, Puillandre N, Terryn Y, Cruaud C, Olivera B, Bouchet P. Evolution of the Toxoglossa Venom Apparatus as Inferred by Molecular Phylogeny of the Terebridae. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 6 October 2008. PubMed PMID: 18840603.
PIGMENTATION IN NATURE
- Hauber ME, Bond AL, Kouwenberg A, Robertson GJ, Hansen ES, Holford M, Dainson M, Luro A, Dale J. The Chemical Basis of a Signal of Individual Identity: Shell Pigment Concentrations Track the Unique Appearance of Common Murre Eggs. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 10 April 2019. PubMed PMID: 30966949.
- Dainson M, Mark M, Hossain M, Yoo B, Holford M, McNeil SE, Riehl C, Hauber ME. How to Make a Mimic? Brood Parasitic Striped Cuckoo Eggs Match Host Shell Color but Not Pigment Concentrations. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 6 July 2018. PubMed PMID: 29978431.
- Hauber ME, Dainson M, Baldassarre DT, Hossain M, Holford M, Riehl C. The perceptual and chemical bases of egg discrimination in communally nesting greater anis Crotophaga major. Journal of Avian Biology, 15 June 2018.
- Verdes A, Cho W, Hossain M, Brennan PLR, Hanley D, Grim T, Hauber ME, Holford M. Nature’s Palette: Characterization of Shared Pigments in Colorful Avian and Mollusk Shells. Plos ONE, 9 December 2015. PubMed PMID: 26650398.
- Lippens D, Branislav I, D’Alba L, Hanley D, Verdes A, Holford M, Waterhouse G, Grim T, Hauber M, Shawkey M. The Cuticle Modulates Ultraviolet Reflectance of Avian Eggshells. Biology Open, 13 April 2015. PubMed PMID: 25964661.
- Igic B, Nunez V, Voss HU, Croston R, Aidala Z, López AV, Van Tatenhove A, Holford M, Shawkey MD, Hauber ME. Using 3D printed eggs to examine the egg-rejection behaviour of wild birds. PeerJ, 26 May 2015. PubMed PMID: 26038720.
ADVANCING INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION AND STEM INITIATIVES
- Holford M, Nichols R. The Challenge of Building Science Diplomacy Capabilities for Early Career Academic Investigators. AAAS Science and Diplomacy, 29 January 2018.
- Holford M, Portnoy L. Children should be playing more games in the classroom. Here’s why. World Economic Forum Agenda, 11 May 2017.
- Holford M, Gadjanski I, Zaringhalam M. Too hot, too cold. What porridge can tell us about women in science. World Economic Forum Agenda, 22 February 2017.
- Fischer M, Holford M. Jobs of the Future: What will a science career look like in 2030?. NatureJobs, 15 January 2016.
- Holford M, Nichols R. A Tale of Two States. Science, 31 July 2015. PubMed PMID: 26228115.
- Holford M, Gadjanski I. Bench to Business: How women in STEM academia can use corporate models to their favour. NatureBlog, 10 November 2014.
- Holford M. Made-to-Measure Postdocs. Nature, 25 October 2006. PubMed PMID: 17133662.
- Holford M. Taking Chemistry Global – International Opportunities for Chemists. ACS Graduate Education Newsletter, 2005.
- Slimowitz J, Holford M. International Activities and the US National Science Foundation. Bridges, 13 July 2005.
DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF EXPRESSED PROTEIN LIGATION
- Minakhin L, Camarero JA, Holford M, Parker C, Muir TW, Severinov K. Mapping the Molecular Interface between the Sigma (70) Subunit of E. coli RNA Polymerase and T4 AsiA. Journal of Molecular Biology, 2 March 2001. PubMed PMID: 11243776.
- Huse M, Holford M, Kuriyan J, Muir TW. Semisynthesis of Hyperphosphorylated Type I TGF Beta Receptor: Addressing the Mechanism of Kinase Activation. Journal of American Chemical Society, 15 August 2000.
- Ayers B, Blaschke UK, Camarero JA, Cotton GJ, Holford M, Muir TW. Introduction of Unnatural Amino Acids into Proteins Using Expressed Protein Ligation. Biopolymers, 1 January 1999. PubMed PMID: 10685045.
- Holford M, Muir TW. Adding ‘Splice’ to Protein Engineering. Structure, 15 August 1998. PubMed PMID: 9739093.