MSc. Ryan O. M. Rego, Ph.D.

Current Position

Independent Research Scientist, with his own group, within the Laboratory of Molecular Ecology of Vectors & Pathogens, Institute of Parasitology, BC, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

Research centered on adapting and developing genetic methods to understand the evasion strategies used by various European species within the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, the causative agent of Lyme disease, and identification of new, common antigenic markers that could be used for detection purposes. Also investigating the the transmission dynamics of the old world relapsing fever borrelia using the tick-animal model.

Was involved in the FP7 proposal HEALTH – ANTIDotE consortium for the identification and evaluation of tick vaccine candidates (2013-2018).

Postdoctoral Experience

May 2007 – April 2012 – Visiting fellow, Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH, Hamilton, Montana

Apr 2006 – April 2007 – Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Vectors and Pathogens, Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, ASCR, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic

Educational Background:

Univ. of South Bohemia, Czech Rep.          Ph.D. Genetics & Mol. Biol.         2000–2005

• Identified and sequenced, using a bioinformatics approach, phylogenetically conserved innate immune proteins from hard and soft ticks including defensins, integrins and lectins.
• Localized and sequenced the first hemolymph lectin, possessing a fibrinogen domain, from a tick and involved within the tick innate immune system.
• Comparative analyses using phylogenetic methods were done to understand the evolution of such proteins.
• Supervisor – Prof. Vaclav Hypsa, Specialist Advisor – Prof. Libor Grubhoffer

Univ. of the West of England, U.K.                   M.S. Biotechnology                 1994–1995

• Studied mixed trypanosome infections in different species of tsetse flies. Statistically identified the possibility of competition among trypanosomes within the midgut and at the time of maturation within the salivary glands.
• Supervisors – Dr. Sue Welburn & Dr. Ian Maudlin (Present address: Univ. of Edinburgh)

St.Joseph’s College of Arts&Sc.(B.U.), India   B.S. Microbiology                    1990–1993

Invited lectures at international conferences:

2016 XXV International Congress of Entomology (ICE 2016, Orlando, Florida, USA) Sept. 25-30

2019  Entomological Society of America Meeting (St. Louis, Missouri, USA),

2020 Entomological Society of America, International Branch, Virtual Symposium, April 27-29 - Plenary Speaker

Running Grant Projects in the Czech Republic

P.I. for 2 Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MSMT) mobility grants between Czech Republic and Austria (2019-2021-Prof. Peter Hinterdorfer) and (2020-2022 –Prof. Norbert Muller)

Previous grants

P. I. -GACR (Grant Agency of the Czech Republic): Delineating the role of Borrelia afzelii genes required for dissemination within an infected tick during feeding (2017-2019).

P. I. -TACR(Technology Agency of the Czech Republic): Identification of early Lyme disease serological markers (2017-2018 and 2020)

Mentoring

Total Defended theses: two M.Sc. projects and fifteen B.Sc. projects, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia

Previous Student Grants under Dr. Regos' supervision: 1 Ph.D. student grant (2015-2016), 3 M.S. Student grants (2018,2020), 5 B.S. student grants (1-2017, 3-2019,1-2020, 1-2021) obtained from the University of South Bohemia

Current Students: 1 Ph.D. , 1 M.Sc., and 4 B.Sc. project theses, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia.

Relevant Publications (Last 5 years : Aug 2016- June 2021):

• Hart, TM, Dupuis II, AP, Tufts, DM, Blom, AM, Starkey, S, Rego, ROM et al., 2021 Host tropism determination by convergent evolution of immunological evasion in the Lyme disease system PLoS Pathog. 2021 Jul 29; 17(7): e1009801.
• Hejduk, L., Rathner, P., Strnad, M., Grubhoffer, l., Sterba, J., Rego, ROM., Muller, N. and Rathner A. Resonance assignment and secondary structure of DbpA protein from the European species, Borrelia afzelii. Biomol NMR Assign (2021).
• Wachter, J., Martens, C., Barbarian, KD., Rego, ROM and Rosa, P. 2021 Epigenomic landscape of Lyme disease spirochetes reveals novel motifs mBio. 2021 Jun 29;12(3):e0128821.
• Genné D, Rossel M, Sarr A, Battilotti F, Rais O, Rego ROM, Voordouw MJ. 2021 Competition between strains of Borrelia afzelii in the host tissues and consequences for transmission to ticks. ISME J. doi: 10.1038/s41396-021-00939-5
• Strnad, M., Oh, Y.J., Vancová, M., Hain, L., Salo, J., Grubhoffer, L., Nebesarova, J., Hytonen, J., Hinterdorfer, P., Rego, ROM 2021 Nanomechanical mechanisms of Lyme disease spirochete motility enhancement in extracellular matrix. Commun Biol 4, 268.
• Rego ROM, Lopez JE, Cabezas-Cruz A 2020 Editorial: Biological Drivers of Vector–Pathogen Interactions. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 10:609495
• Strnad, M and Rego ROM 2020 The need to unravel the twisted nature of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex across Europe Microbiology (Reading) 166(5):428-435
• Strnad, M., Grubhoffer, L. & Rego, ROM 2020 Novel targets and strategies to combat borreliosis. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 104, 1915–1925
• Hodžić A, Mateos-Hernández L, Leschnik M, Alberdi P, Rego ROM, et.al. 2019 Tick Bites Induce Anti-α-Gal Antibodies in Dogs. Vaccines (Basel). 15;7(3):114.
• Rego ROM, et.al. 2019 Counterattacking the tick bite: towards a rational design of anti-tick vaccines targeting pathogen transmission. Parasites & Vectors. 14;12(1):229.
• Strnad M., Oh Y., Vancová M., Hinterdorfer P., Grubhoffer L., Rego ROM 2018 Interaction forces between the extracellular matrix and variants of borrelial decorin binding protein A probed by atomic force microscopy. FEBS Open Bio 8 : 203.
• Věchtová P., Štěrbová J., Štěrba J., Vancová M., Rego ROM, et.al. 2018 A bite so sweet: the glycobiology interface of tick-host-pathogen interactions Parasites & Vectors 11 : 594.
• Belli A, Sarr A, Rais O, Rego ROM, Voordouw MJ. 2017 Ticks infected via co-feeding transmission can transmit Lyme borreliosis to vertebrate hosts. Scientific Reports 7(1):5006.
• Cabezas-Cruz A, Estrada-Peña A, Rego ROM, De la Fuente J 2017 Tick-Pathogen Ensembles: Do Molecular Interactions Lead Ecological Innovation? Front. Cell Infect Microbiol 7:74
• de la Fuente J, Antunes S, Bonnet S, Cabezas-Cruz A, Domingos AG, Estrada-Peña A, Johnson N, Kocan KM, Mansfield KL, Nijhof AM, Papa A, Rudenko N, Villar M, Alberdi P, Torina A, Ayllón N, Vancova M, Golovchenko M, Grubhoffer L, Caracappa S, Fooks AR, Gortazar C, Rego ROM 2017 Tick-Pathogen Interactions and Vector Competence: Identification of Molecular Drivers for Tick-Borne Diseases. Front. Cell Infect Microbiol 7:114.
• Strnad M, Hönig V, Růžek D, Grubhoffer L, Rego ROM 2017 Europe-Wide Meta-Analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Prevalence in Questing Ixodes ricinus Ticks. Appl Environ Microbiol 83(15)
• Vancová M, Rudenko N, Vaněček J, Golovchenko M, Strnad M, Rego ROM., et. al. 2017 Pleomorphism and Viability of the Lyme Disease Pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi Exposed to Physiological Stress Conditions: A Correlative Cryo-Fluorescence and Cryo-Scanning Electron Microscopy Study. Front Microbiol 8:596