Jessica A. Scoffield

Scoffield grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee.{{Cite web|last=Times|first=Birmingham|date=2019-06-27|title=UAB Prof. Jessica Scoffield Becomes First Recipient of Notable Fellowship|url=https://www.birminghamtimes.com/2019/06/uab-prof-jessica-scoffield-becomes-first-recipient-of-notable-fellowship/|access-date=2020-06-22|website=The Birmingham Times|language=en-US}} She pursued her undergraduate degree at Tuskegee University in 1998, which is when she discovered her passion for biomedical research. Scoffield graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences in 2002.{{Cite web|title=UASOM Faculty Profiles|url=https://apps.medicine.uab.edu/facultydirectory/FacultyData.asp?s_lname=scoffield&s_keyword=&s_fname=&FacultyTypeID=&s_DeptName=&s_ResearchTitle=&FID=92434|access-date=2020-06-22|website=apps.medicine.uab.edu}} Following her undergraduate degree, Scoffield stayed at Tuskegee University to complete her Master of Science in biology. While at Tuskegee, Scoffield helped to design plant growth systems for space missions and then helped develop edible vaccines using plants.{{Cite web|last=Hansen|first=Jeff|title=Scoffield is first to receive dental fellowship to promote diversity in research - The Reporter|url=https://bb.uab.edu/reporter/people/awards-honors/item/8755-scoffield-is-first-to-receive-dental-fellowship-to-promote-diversity-in-research|access-date=2020-06-22|website=bb.uab.edu|language=en-gb}} She explored the use of Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer efficiency in sweet potato cultivars, in an effort to improve sweet potato production in Alabama.{{Cite web|title=Improving Sweetpotato Production in Alabama Through Breeding, Selection and Biotechnology Techniques - Tuskegee University|url=https://reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/0193792-improving-sweetpotato-production-in-alabama-through-breeding-selection-and-biotechnology-techniques.html|access-date=2020-06-22|website=reeis.usda.gov}} She presented this emerging technology at the In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology Symposium.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=April 2006|title=Archives - Program for 2006 Symposium|url=https://www.umes.edu/ARD/Pages/Archives---Program-for-2006-Symposium/|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=June 21, 2020|website=umes.edu}} She completed her Master's training in 2004.

Following her master's, Scoffield pursued her graduate training at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. She trained under Laura Silo-Suh in the Department of Biological Sciences and she explored the mechanisms by which Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth mechanisms and virulence factor production.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=May 7, 2012|title=GlpR Regulates the Glyoxylate Pathway and Virulence Factor Production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa|url=http://etd.auburn.edu/bitstream/handle/10415/3128/Scoffield%20Dissertation.pdf.txt?sequence=3&isAllowed=y|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=June 21, 2020|website=etd.auburn.edu}} P. aeruginosa infections are one of the leading causes of chronic pulmonary infections in people with cystic fibrosis, often resulting in mortality.{{Cite journal|last1=Hagins|first1=Jessica M.|last2=Scoffield|first2=Jessica A.|last3=Suh|first3=Sang-Jin|last4=Silo-Suh|first4=Laura|date=April 2010|title=Influence of RpoN on isocitrate lyase activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa|journal=Microbiology|volume=156|issue=Pt 4|pages=1201–1210|doi=10.1099/mic.0.033381-0|doi-access=free |issn=1465-2080|pmid=20093293}} Her work helped to explore which environmental factors and adaptations lead to persistent and severe infection in CF patients. Probing the metabolic glyoxylate pathways of P. aeruginosa, Scoffield found that isocitrate lyase, an important enzyme in the glyoxylate pathway, facilitated adaptation of P. aeruginosa to the CF lung. They also found that the glyoxylate pathway becomes up-regulated in specific bacterial isolates from CF patient lungs. Based on this finding, Scoffield explored the genetic mechanisms of pathway up-regulation and she showed that GlpR, a transcriptional repressor for glycerol metabolism, also regulates the glyoxylate pathway, shedding light on the interactions between fatty acid and glycerol metabolism in P. aeruginosa. Scoffield completed her PhD in microbiology in 2012.

After completing her PhD, Scoffield pursued her postdoctoral training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She trained under the mentorship of Hui Wu in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. Scoffield continued to study P. aeruginosa, but focused on its infection of the oral cavity.{{Cite journal|last1=Scoffield|first1=Jessica A.|last2=Wu|first2=Hui|date=January 2015|title=Oral streptococci and nitrite-mediated interference of Pseudomonas aeruginosa|journal=Infection and Immunity|volume=83|issue=1|pages=101–107|doi=10.1128/IAI.02396-14|issn=1098-5522|pmc=4288860|pmid=25312949}} She explored how commensal bacteria in the mouth help to suppress P. aeruginosa infection. She found that commensal bacteria in the oral cavity suppress the growth and infection of pathogenic P. aeruginosa through their release of nitrate and H₂O₂. This work suggests that H₂O₂ and nitrate may present an infection treatment strategy in patients with P. aeruginosa infections. Scoffield then found that P. aeruginosa require nitrite reductase to survive in the presence of nitrite producing commensal oral bacteria.{{Cite journal|last1=Scoffield|first1=Jessica A.|last2=Wu|first2=Hui|date=2016-02-01|title=Nitrite reductase is critical for Pseudomonas aeruginosa survival during co-infection with the oral commensal Streptococcus parasanguinis|journal=Microbiology|volume=162|issue=Pt 2|pages=376–383|doi=10.1099/mic.0.000226|doi-access=free |issn=1350-0872|pmc=4766596|pmid=26673783}}

In 2018, Scoffield was appointed to assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Department of Microbiology. She also holds secondary appointments in the Department of Medicine Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care, as well as an appointment in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. Scoffield also works in the Cystic Fibrosis Research Center. Scoffield is a member of the American Society for Microbiology as well as the American Association for Dental Research (AADR).{{Cite web|last=Sinclair|first=Kristina|title=Microbiology welcomes new faculty member - School of Medicine - Microbiology {{!}} UAB|url=https://www.uab.edu/medicine/microbiology/news-events/news/555-microbiology-welcomes-new-faculty-member|access-date=2020-06-22|website=www.uab.edu|language=en-gb}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In 2019, she became the inaugural recipient of the AADR Procter and Gamble Under-represented Faculty Research Fellowship.{{Cite web|title=Jessica Scoffield receives new AADR Procter & Gamble Under-represented Fellowship|url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-06/iaa-jsr061819.php|access-date=2020-06-22|website=EurekAlert!|language=en}}

Scoffield is also the principal investigator of the Scoffield Lab. Her lab explores the role of commensal bacteria in maintaining homeostasis.{{Cite web|last=Gorelick|first=Kerry|title=Microbiology Faculty Projects - School of Medicine - Microbiology {{!}} UAB|url=https://www.uab.edu/medicine/microbiology/research/programs/microbial-pathogenesis/faculty-projects|access-date=2020-06-22|website=www.uab.edu|language=en-gb}} The lab focuses on both oral and pulmonary commensal bacteria and how these bacteria are able to control and suppress pathogenic bacteria in these niches. The main pathogenic bacteria the Scoffield Lab explores are Streptococcus mutans, the major cause of pathogenic oral infection, and P. aeruginosa, the major cause of pulmonary infection in CF patients. In 2019, Scoffield and her team explored how P. aeruginosa infection of microglia impacts extracellular vesicle (EV) biogenesis and composition. The team found that P. aeruginosa infection and treatment of microglia with P. aeruginosa EVs altered protein and mRNA expression in microglia derived EVs and led to decreased cell viability. These findings suggest that EVs alone could be used as a biomarker of infection and guide the development of tools to target resistant bacteria.{{Cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Leandra B.|last2=Kumar|first2=Sanjay|last3=Bell|first3=Courtnee’ R.|last4=Peoples|first4=Veolonda A.|last5=Crenshaw|first5=Brennetta J.|last6=Coats|first6=Mamie T.|last7=Scoffield|first7=Jessica A.|last8=Rowe|first8=Glenn C.|last9=Sims|first9=Brian|last10=Matthews|first10=Qiana L.|date=2019-12-14|title=Effects of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on Microglial-Derived Extracellular Vesicle Biogenesis and Composition |journal=Pathogens|volume=8|issue=4|page=297|doi=10.3390/pathogens8040297|issn=2076-0817|pmc=6963293|pmid=31847332|doi-access=free}}

• 2019 inaugural recipient of the American Association for Dental Research Procter and Gamble Underrepresented Faculty Research Fellowship{{Cite web|title=September 2019 – Jessica Scoffield|url=https://www.iadr.org/AADR/About-Us/News/Strides-in-Science/ArtMID/134923/ArticleID/740/September-2019-Jessica-Scoffield|access-date=2020-06-22|website=International Association for Dental Research|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026034703/https://www.iadr.org/AADR/About-Us/News/Strides-in-Science/ArtMID/134923/ArticleID/740/September-2019-Jessica-Scoffield|url-status=dead}}
• 2017 postdoctoral paper featured in Nature Reviews Microbiology{{Cite journal|last=Vacca|first=Irene|date=June 2017|title=New ways for streptococci to settle down|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro.2017.57|journal=Nature Reviews Microbiology|language=en|volume=15|issue=6|pages=321|doi=10.1038/nrmicro.2017.57|pmid=28496164|s2cid=3704634|issn=1740-1534}}
• 2017 Most-esteemed Postdoc Award University of Alabama at Birmingham{{Cite web|last=Herfurth|first=Haley|title=11 honored for excellence in postdoctoral work - The Reporter|url=https://www.uab.edu/reporter/people/awards-honors/item/7854-11-honored-for-excellence-in-postdoctoral-work|access-date=2020-06-22|website=www.uab.edu|language=en-gb}}
• 2016 NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award{{Cite journal|last=Scoffield|first=Jessica|title=Inhibition of Streptococcus Mutans by Oral Commensal Streptococci and Nitrite-Mediated Activity|url=https://grantome.com/grant/NIH/K99-DE025913-01A1|language=en}}

• Jones LB, Kumar S, Bell CR, et al. Effects of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on Microglial-Derived Extracellular Vesicle Biogenesis and Composition. Pathogens. 2019;8(4):297. Published 2019 Dec 14. doi:10.3390/pathogens8040297{{Cite web|title=Scoffield JA - Search Results|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?sort=pubdate&size=200&term=Scoffield+JA&cauthor_id=25312949|access-date=2020-06-22|website=PubMed|language=en}}
• Scoffield JA, Duan D, Zhu F, Wu H. A commensal streptococcus hijacks a Pseudomonas aeruginosa exopolysaccharide to promote biofilm formation. PLOS Pathogens. 2017;13(4):e1006300. Published 2017 Apr 27. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1006300
• Scoffield JA, Wu H. Nitrite reductase is critical for Pseudomonas aeruginosa survival during co-infection with the oral commensal Streptococcus parasanguinis. Microbiology. 2016;162(2):376-383. doi:10.1099/mic.0.000226
• Scoffield JA, Wu H. Oral streptococci and nitrite-mediated interference of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Infection and Immunity. 2015;83(1):101-107. doi:10.1128/IAI.02396-14
• Hagins JM, Scoffield JA, Suh SJ, Silo-Suh L. Influence of RpoN on isocitrate lyase activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Microbiology. 2010;156(Pt 4):1201-1210. doi:10.1099/mic.0.033381-0
• Egnin, M., H. Gao, D. Mortley, J. Scoffield, S. Jack, and B. Bay. 2007. Gene expression profiling and the physiological role of t-Zeatin Riboside (ZR) in sweetpotato storage root initiation and enlargement. Horticultural Science. 42:976.
• Scoffield, Jessica, M. Egnin, B, Bey, M. Quain, C.S. Prakash and D. Mortley. (2006). Development of an Efficient Agrobacterium-Mediated Gene Transfer System for Multiple Sweetpotato Cultivars. In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology. 42 (4):36A.

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