Biology subjects

Wilson, K. L.

Publications and source records attributed to Wilson, K. L..

8 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Groundfish with diverse life histories increase in size and abundance with proximity to spatial protections

Detecting positive responses to marine spatial protections, both in situ and as spillover effects, is critical for fisheries management yet difficult in practice. We leveraged 18 years of data on 28 groundfish species collected by four Indigenous Nations in Pacific Canada to assess ecological responses to spatially protected Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs). Body sizes and abundances were greatest inside RCAs and increased with proximity to RCAs at unprotected sites up to 160 km away. Abundance responses emerged faster (at younger RCA ages) for species with high rmax, as predicted, but body size responses emerged faster for species with low rmax, counter to predictions. Our study illustrates a general framework for jointly inferring in situ recovery and spillover benefits using a novel hierarchical geostatistical model that integrated long time series; observations made inside, near, and far from seven RCAs; and multiple species and survey methods spanning a 500-m depth range.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

Using fisheries risk assessment to inform precautionary and collaborative management in a declining coho salmon fishery

The conservation and management of Pacific salmon in Canada faces an uncertain future. While fisheries policies, like Canadas Wild Salmon Policy, increasingly emphasize conservation, salmon continue to decline due to cumulative pressures of climate change, habitat loss, and overfishing, requiring precautionary management. We quantified population dynamics for 52 coho salmon populations along the North and Central Coast of British Columbia since 1980 to determine population status, assess risks posed by a mixed-stock fishery spanning U.S., Canadian, and Indigenous jurisdictions, and implemented forward simulations of alternative productivity trends and harvest scenarios to inform collaborative management tables. We found declining abundances for 51% of coho populations since 2017, driven by productivity regime shifts associated with recent marine heatwaves. Although long-term coho recovery depended on future productivity trends, reduced harvest rates across U.S. and Canadian fisheries can improve short-term recovery prospects. While rebuilding coho will depend largely on whether productivity improves, harvest management remains one of the few tools available to provide a safe operating space for coho populations, and their fisheries, to adapt to ongoing ecosystem changes.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

Clustered VEGF Nanoparticles in Microporous Annealed Particle (MAP) Hydrogel Accelerates Functional Recovery and Brain Tissue Repair after Stroke

Ischemic stroke, a blockage in the vasculature of the brain that results in insufficient blood flow, is one of the worlds leading causes of disability. The cascade of inflammation and cell death that occurs immediately following stroke drives vascular and functional loss that does not fully recover over time, and no FDA-approved therapies exist that stimulate regeneration post-stroke. We have previously developed a hydrogel scaffold that delivered heparin nanoparticles with and without VEGF bound to their surface to promote angiogenesis and reduce inflammation, respectively. However, the inclusion of the naked heparin nanoparticles warranted concern over the development of bleeding complications. Here, we explore how microporous annealed particle (MAP) scaffolds functionalized with VEGF coated heparin nanoparticles can both reduce inflammation and promote angiogenesis - without the inclusion of free heparin nanoparticles. We show that our updated design not only successfully promotes de novo tissue formation, including the development of mature vessels and neurite sprouting, but it also leads to functional improvement in a photothrombotic stroke model. In addition, we find increased astrocyte infiltration into the infarct site correlated with mature vessel formation. This work demonstrates how our biomaterial design can enhance endogenous regeneration post-stroke while eliminating the need for excess heparin.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2024

Deepening biomedical research training: Community-Building Wellness Workshops for Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) Trainees

ProblemAll trainees, especially those from historically minoritized backgrounds, experience stresses that may reduce their continuation in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM) careers. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is one of [~]45 institutions with a National Institutes of Health funded Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) that provides mentoring and a year of fulltime research to prepare students from historically excluded groups for graduate school. Having experienced the conflation of stresses during the COVID-19 pandemic and related shutdown, we realized our program lacked a component that explicitly helped PREP Scholars recognize and cope with non-academic stresses (financial, familial, social, mental) that might threaten their confidence and success as scientists and future in STEMM. InterventionWe developed an early-intervention program to help Scholars develop life-long skills to become successful and resilient scientists. We developed a year-long series comprised of 9 workshops focused on community, introspection, financial fitness, emotional intelligence, mental health, and soft-skills. We recruited and compensated a cohort of PhD students and postdoctoral fellows to serve as Peer Mentors, to provide a community and the safest space for Scholars to discuss personal concerns. Peer Mentors were responsible for developing and facilitating these Community-Building Wellness Workshops (CBWW). ContextCBWW were created and exectued as part of the larger PREP program. Workshops included a PowerPoint presentation by Peer Mentors that featured several case studies that prompted discussion and provided time for small-group discussions between Scholars and Peer Mentors. We also included pre- and post-work for each workshop. These touch-points helped Scholars cultivate the habit of introspection. ImpactThe CBWW exceeded our goals. Both Peer Mentors and Scholars experienced strong mutual support, and Scholars developed life-long skills. Notably, several Scholars who had been experiencing financial, mental or mentor-related stress immediately brought this to the attention of program leadership, allowing early and successful intervention. At the completion of CBWW, PREP Scholars reported implementing many workshop skills into practice, were reshaping their criteria for choosing future mentors, and evaluating career decisions. Strikingly, Peer Mentors found they also benefitted from the program as well, suggesting a potential larger scope for the role of CBWW in academia. Lessons LearnedPeer Mentors were essential in creating a safe supportive environment that facilitated discussions, self-reflection, and self-care. Providing fair compensation to Peer Mentors for their professional mentoring and teaching contributions was essential and contributed meaningfully to the positive energy and impact of this program.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2023

Global analysis of Poales diversification - parallel evolution in space and time into open and closed habitats

O_LIPoales are one of the most species-rich, ecologically and economically important orders of plants and often characterise open habitats, enabled by unique suites of traits. We test the hypotheses that Poales species are assembled into distinct phyloregions, with centres of high phylogenetic diversity and endemism clustered in tropical regions, and that cosmopolitan families show parallel transitions into open and closed habitats at different times. C_LIO_LIWe sampled 42% of Poales species and obtained taxonomic and biogeographic data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants database, which was combined with open/closed habitat data scored by taxonomic experts. A dated supertree of Poales was constructed. We integrated spatial phylogenetics with regionalization analyses, historical biogeography, ancestral state estimations, and models of contingent evolution. C_LIO_LIDiversification in Poales and assembly of open and closed habitats result from dynamic evolutionary processes that vary across lineages, time, space, and traits, most prominently in tropical and southern latitudes. Our results reveal parallel and recurrent patterns of habitat and trait transitions in the species-rich families Poaceae and Cyperaceae, yet other smaller families display unique evolutionary trajectories. C_LIO_LIThe Poales have achieved global dominance via parallel evolution in open habitats, with notable, spatially and phylogenetically restricted divergences into strictly closed habitats. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2023

SDF-1 Bound Heparin Nanoparticles Recruit Progenitor Cells for Their Differentiation and Promotion of Angiogenesis After Stroke

Angiogenesis after stroke is correlated with enhanced tissue repair and functional outcomes. The existing body of research in biomaterials for stroke focuses on hydrogels for the delivery of stem cells, growth factors, or small molecules or drugs. Despite the ability of hydrogels to enhance all these delivery methods, no material has significantly regrown vasculature within the translatable timeline of days to weeks after stroke. Here we developed 2 novel biomaterials for tissue regeneration after stroke, a highly porous granular hydrogel termed Cryo microgels, and heparin-norbornene nanoparticles with covalently bound SDF-1. The combination of these materials resulted in fully revascularized vessels throughout the stroke core in only 10 days, as well as increased neural progenitor cell migration and maintenance and increased neurons.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2022

Void volume fraction of granular scaffolds

Void volume fraction (VVF) of granular biomaterials is a global measurement frequently used to characterize void space. There is currently no gold standard for measuring the VVF of granular scaffolds made in lab. To help the biomaterials field, we provide a library of different simulated scaffolds with known VVF for easy look-up. We use our simulated data to explore the relationship between microscope magnification and VVF, and we study the accuracy of approximating VVF using 2-D z-slice images, which is the most common approach for computing VVF of real scaffolds. Lastly, we test four different approaches for computing VVF using microscope images of real granular scaffolds and reveal that VVF may be an unreliable descriptor.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2017

OGT (O-GlcNAc Transferase) selectively modifies multiple residues unique to lamin A

The LMNA gene encodes lamins A and C with key roles in nuclear structure, signaling, chromatin organization, and genome integrity. Mutations in LMNA cause >12 diseases, termed laminopathies. Lamins A and C are identical for their first 566 residues. However, they form distinct filaments in vivo with apparently distinct roles. We report that lamin A is O-GlcNAc modified in human hepatoma (Huh7) cells and in mouse liver. In vitro assays with purified OGT enzyme showed robust O-GlcNAcylation of recombinant mature lamin A tails (residues 385-646), with no detectable modification of lamin B1, lamin C, or progerin ({Delta}50) tails. Using mass spectrometry, we identified 11 O-GlcNAc sites in a sweet spot unique to lamin A, with up to seven sugars per peptide. Most sites were unpredicted by current algorithms. Double-mutant (S612A/T643A) lamin A tails were still robustly O-GlcNAc-modified at seven sites. By contrast, O-GlcNAcylation was undetectable on tails bearing deletion {Delta}50, which causes Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, and greatly reduced by deletion {Delta}35, suggesting this region is required for substrate recognition or modification by OGT in vitro. These results suggest OGT, an essential protein and master regulator, regulates partners or function(s) unique to lamin A that are lost in progeria.

biochemistry↗