Martha J. Gentry-Nielsen, Ph.D.

HOME | FACULTY INFORMATION

Appointment & Titles | Education | Research Interests | Selected Publications
Lectures | Contact

Appointment(s) and Titles:

Professor, Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University
Professor, Medicine, Creighton University

Education:

B.S. 1969, Bacteriology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
M.A. 1971, Microbiology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
Ph.D. 1984, Veterinary Microbiology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Research Interests:

Pneumococcal disease in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis - sponsored by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Dr. Gentry-Nielsen is using a rat model of CCl₄-induced cirrhosis to determine why patients with alcoholic liver disease have greatly increased susceptibility to pneumococcal pneumonia and bacteremia.

Detrimental effects of ethanol ingestion and smoking on immune defense against microbes. Using rat models in which ethanol is fed in a liquid diet and cigarette smoke is passively inhaled, Dr. Gentry-Nielsen is investigating the detrimental effects of excessive alcohol intake on innate and acquired immunity, in particular to pneumococci.

Selected Publications:

Gentry. M.J., M.U. Snitily, L.C. Preheim. Phagocytosis of Streptococcus pneumoniae Measured in vitro and in vivo in a Rat Model of CCl₄ -Induced Liver Cirrhosis. J. Infect. Dis. 171:350-355, 1995.

Jareo, P.W., L.C. Preheim, M.J. Gentry. Ethanol Impairs Neutrophil Bactericidal Mechanisms Against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Alcoholism: Clin. Exp. Res. 20:1646-1652, 1996.

Gentry, M.J. Pneumococcal Pneumonia in Alcoholism and HIV Infection. Alcoholism: Clin. Exp. Res. 22:201S-203S, 1998.

McCashland, TM, LC Preheim, MJ Gentry-Nielsen. Pneumococcal Vaccine Response in Cirrhosis and Liver Transplantation. J. Infect. Dis. 181:757-760, 2000

Gentry-Nielsen, M.J., L.C. Preheim, K.N. McDonough, B.J. Potter. Use of Rat Models to Mimic Alterations in Serum Iron Homeostasis During Alcohol Abuse and Cirrhosis. Alcohol 23:71-81, 2001.

Alcantara, R.B., L.C. Preheim, M.J. Gentry-Nielsen. Pneumolysin-Induced Complement Depletion During Experimental Pneumococcal Bacteremia. Infect Immun 69:3569-3575, 2001.

Gentry-Nielsen, M.J., K.M. Olsen, L.C. Preheim. The Pharmacodynamic Activity and Efficacy of Linezolid in a Rat Model of Pneumococcal Pneumonia. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 46:1345-51,2002

Vent, J., S. Bartels, G. Haynatzki, M.J.Gentry-Nielsen, D.A. Leopold, R. Hallworth. The Impact of Ethanol and Tobacco Smoke on Intranasal Epithelium in the Rat. Am J Rhinology 17:241-247, 2003.

Gentry-Nielsen, M.J., E.A. Hartwell, L.C. Preheim, M.U. Snitily. Development of a Rat Model to Determine the Biomedical Consequences of Concurrent Ethanol Ingestion and Cigarette Smoke Exposure. Alcoholism: Clin. Exp. Res. 28:1120-1128, 2004

Vander Top, E.A., T.A. Wyatt, M.J. Gentry-Nielsen. Smoke Exposure Exacerbates an Ethanol-induced Defect in Mucociliary Clearance of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Alcoholism: Clin Exp Res 29:882-882, 2005.

Lectures:

Mechanisms of bacterial virulence and pathogenesis
Introductory immunology
Gram-negative and Gram-positive cocci
Overviews of mycology and parasitology
Sterilization and disinfection

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
2500 California Plaza • Omaha, Nebraska 68178 • (402) 280-2921