Faculty Bio

Dr. Jamerson, a native of Virginia, received her BS in Biology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She then came to Virginia Commonwealth University and obtained her BS in Medical Laboratory Sciences and PhD in Microbiology and Immunology. Prior to joining the faculty of the Department of Medical  Laboratory Sciences, Dr. Jamerson worked as a postdoctoral fellow investigating cannabinoid modulation of the primary human monocyte cytokine response to HIV gp120. Additional research has focused on identifying proteins related to the pathogenicity and high mortality associated with the free-living amebae Naegleria fowleri.

Research Interests

Research interests include investigating virulence factors of Naegleria fowleri and the development of an in vitro blood-brain-barrier model to study the effects of cannabinoids on HIV-induced monocyte migration.

Recent Publications

• Jamerson, M., Rocha-Azevedo, B., Cabral, G.A., and Marciano-Cabral, F. Pathogenic Naegleria fowleri and nonpathogenic Naegleria lovanienosis exhibit differential adhesion to, and invasion of, extracellular matrix proteins. Microbiology. 158:791-803. 2012.
• Raborn, E.S., Jamerson, M., Marciano-Cabral, F., and Cabral, G.A. Cannabinoid inhibition of HIV-1 tat- stimulated macrophage-like cell adhesion to protein components of the extracellular matrix. Life Sci., 104:15-23. 2014.
• Massilamany, C., Marciano-Cabral, F., Rocha-Azevedo, B., Jamerson, M., Gangaplara, A., Steffen, D., Zabad, R., Illes, Z., Sobel, R., and Reddy, J. SJL mice infected with Acanthamoeba castellanii develop central nervous system autoimmunity through the generation of cross-reactive T cells for myelin antigens. PLoS One. 30;9(5):e98506. 2014.