Matt Tucker was born in New York and grew up in Bradenton, Florida. He studied at
the University of Florida and University of South Florida and holds four degrees.
He is a molecular parasitologist but has studied pathogens of all types, including
the most deadly human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and the agent causing
the most seafood-related deaths each year in the U.S., Vibrio vulnificus. Dr. Tucker
joined the Department of Biological Sciences at FGCU in 2021. Before coming to FGCU,
he was an Assistant Professor at Jacksonville University (FL) and also conducted parasitology
research at the USDA.
During his career, he has been a member of the American Society of Parasitologists,
the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the American Society for Microbiology
(and its affiliate branches), Southeastern Society of Parasitologists, and the Association
of Southeastern Biologists.
For more detail, please see his CV and web page.
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Education
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- Ph.D. in Public Health (Global Infectious Diseases), University of South Florida
- M.S. in Medical Sciences (Bacterial Genetics), University of Florida, M.S. in Public
Health (Tropical and Communicable Diseases), University of South Florida
- B.S. in Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida
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Specialties
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- Molecular mechanisms of artemisinin drug resistance in malaria
- Vectorborne disease
- Coccidian parasites
- Environmental/wildlife parasitology
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Research and Teaching Interests
Toggle Research and Teaching InterestsI am currently involved in several research areas which cover antimalarial resistance,
surveillance of vectorborne pathogens in ticks and wildlife, and coccidian parasite
detection and transcriptomics. A continued major emphasis of my research program is
the elucidation of molecular markers of resistance to artemisinin in the human malaria
parasite Plasmodium falciparum. I have recently applied for a R21 grant to conduct
some of this research at FGCU. I have also conducted research on deer and tick populations
in Maryland to discover the prevalence of human and wildlife pathogens (such as the
Lyme disease bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and a deer malaria parasite) in these
hosts. Through a collaboration with the USDA, I am helping characterize Eimeria chicken
parasites as a surrogate model for the human pathogen Cyclospora cayetanensis. I am
new to FGCU and looking to recruit students to participate in these projects, so please
contact me if you are interested. Students would have the opportunity to conduct molecular
bench research and also collect samples in the field for analysis. I also try to integrate
some of this work into Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) and
will continue to do this at FGCU.
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Courses Offered
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- MCB 4203C Pathogenic Microbiology
- PCB 4233C Immunology
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Publications
Toggle PublicationsDr. Tucker has published peer-reviewed scientific articles in journals such as the
Journal of Parasitology, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Journal of Parasitology
and Vector Biology, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy , Current Protocols in Immunology,
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology, and Military Medicine.
A manuscript on RNA-Sequencing in sporulating Eimeria oocysts has been submitted for
publication in the journal PLoS One. He has co-authored one book chapter, participated
as an ad hoc reviewer for several journals, and also served on scientific advisory
panels.
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Conference Presentations
Toggle Conference PresentationsDr. Tucker and his students have presented research at international parasitology
and tropical medicine society conferences such as The American Society of Tropical
Medicine and Hygiene and The American Society of Parasitologists. In addition, they
have attended meetings of the Southeastern Society of Parasitologists, The American
Society for Microbiology (ASM), The European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International
Health, and branch ASM meetings. Dr. Tucker and his students have also presented research
at a World Malaria Day Symposium and several tick and tickborne disease meetings.
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Grants & Awards
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- "Monitoring Maryland Ticks for Abundant and Emerging Pathogens", Maryland Lyme Disease
Research Foundation, 2019-2020 funding cycle
- "Elucidating mechanisms for artemisinin-induced dormancy in Plasmodium falciparum",
NIH-NIAID 2022-2024 funding cycle, submitted for review
- Dr. Tucker also supervised NIH-NIAID contracts through the Schistosomiasis Resource
Center that provided parasitological materials and molecular reagents to NIAID scientists
and the schistosomiasis research community at large