Biography
Education
Post-Doc with Dr. Arturo Casadevall in Microbiology and Immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Ph.D. in Biology with Dr. Wayne Potts from University of Utah
Bio
Erin McClelland, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology and one of the co-course directors for the second year DISkO course. She teaches most of the immunology content to first- and second-year medical students. She is the current chair of the Wood College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Committee and the chair of SA国际传媒's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the Indianapolis campus. After her post-doctoral fellowship, Dr. McClelland was founding faculty at the Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she taught Immunology for four years. She then joined the faculty at Middle Tennessee State University, where she taught microbiology and biotechnology.
She is passionate about training students in research, including how to think critically and present their research. Dr. McClelland has mentored >35 undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, all of whom have successfully moved on to post-graduate school, postdoctoral training, or residency.
Courses Taught
Areas of Teaching Expertise
Teaching Philosophy
Dr. McClelland is passionate about translating her wonder and enthusiasm for science into her teaching, so students understand how the knowledge is relevant. She uses interactive, hands-on exercises, case studies and small group activities when teaching to help students make important connections and accommodate their different learning styles.
She has also found that peer learning is an effective teaching tool. This is especially true when teaching students from diverse backgrounds who come to class with a variety of perspectives.
Research Interests
Dr. McClelland’s research interests encompass understanding host-pathogen interactions of the pathogenic yeast, Cryptococcus neoformans, including at the level of macrophage polarization and the sex of the host, to try to understand why 70 percent of patients with cryptococcosis are male.
Publications
- Rao, H.H., McClelland, E.E. 2024. A New Overview of Sex Bias in Fungal Infections.
J Fungi (Basel). 10(9):607. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10090607.
2. Bauer, M.E., Akbar, S., Bauler, T.J., Chacon, J., McClelland, E.E., Staudaher, S., Zhao, Y. 2024. Integration of microbiology and immunology emerging topics into undergraduate medical education. Medical Education Online. 2024(29):2336331. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2024.2336331.
3. Subramani, A., Hite, M.E.L., Garcia, S., Maxwell, J., Kondee, H., Millican, G.E., McClelland, E.E., Seipelt-Thiemann, R.L., and Nelson, D.E. 2023. Regulation of macrophage IFNγ-stimulated gene expression by the transcriptional coregulator CITED1. J Cell Sci. 136(1):jcs260529. doi: 10.1242/jcs.260529.
4. Smith-Peavler, E.S., Patel, R., Onumajuru, A.M., Bowring, B.G., Miller, J.L., Brunel, J.M., Djordjevic, J.T., Prabu, M.M., and McClelland, E.E. 2022. RTA1 is involved in resistance to 7-aminocholesterol and secretion of fungal proteins in Cryptococcus neoformans. Pathogens. 11(11):1239. doi: 10.3390/pathogens11111239.
5. Subramani, A., Griggs, P., Frantzen, N., Mendez, J., Tucker, J., Murriel, J., Sircy, L.M., Millican, G.E., McClelland, E.E., Seipelt-Thiemann, R.L., and Nelson, D.E. 2020. Intracellular Cryptococcus neoformans disrupts the transcriptome profile of M1- and M2-polarized host macrophages. PloS One. 15(8):e0233818. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233818
6. Tucker, J.S., Guess, T.E. and McClelland, E.E. 2020. The Role of Testosterone and Gibberellic Acid in the Melanization of Cryptococcus neoformans. Frontiers in Microbiology. Aug 13; 11:1921: doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01921.
7. Guess, T., Rosen, J., Castro-Lopez, N., Wormley, F.L. and McClelland, E.E. 2019. An inherent immune deficit in healthy males to C. neoformans infection may begin to explain gender gap in incidence of cryptococcosis. Biology of Sex Differences. Sep 2;10(1):44.
8. Spicer, S.K., Subramani, A., Aguila, A.L., Green, R.M., McClelland, E.E.*, Bicker, K.L.* 2019. Toward a clinical antifungal peptoid: Investigations into the therapeutic potential of AEC5. Biopolymers. 2019 Apr 2:e23276. doi: 10.1002/bip.23276 *Joint corresponding authors
9. Guess, T.E., Rosen, J.A., McClelland, E.E. 2018. An Overview of Sex Bias in C. neoformans Infections. J Fungi (Basel). 2018 Apr 18;4(2). pii: E49. doi: 10.3390/jof4020049
10. Jones, T.H.*, McClelland, E.E.*, McFeeters, H. and McFeeters, R.L. 2017. Novel Antifungal Activity for the Lectin Scytovirin: Inhibition of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. Front Microbiol. May 9;8:755. *Joint first-authors
11. Corson, A.E. Armstrong, S.A., Wright, M.E., McClelland, E.E. and Bicker, K.L. 2016 Discovery and Characterization of a Peptoid with Antifungal Activity against Cryptococcus
12. McClelland E.E., Ramagopal, U.A., Rivera, J., Cox, J., Nazouzi, A., Prabu, M.M., Almo, S.C. and Casadevall, A. 2016. A small protein associated with fungal energy metabolism affects the virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans in mammals. PLoS Pathogens. Sep 1;12(9):e1005849.
13. Hayes J.B., Sircy, L.M., Heusinkveld, L.E., Ding, W., Leander, R.N., McClelland, E.E.* and Nelson, D.E.* 2016. Modulation of Macrophage Inflammatory Nuclear Factor κB (NF-κB) Signaling by Intracellular Cryptococcus neoformans. J Biol Chem.; 291(30): 15614-27. * Joint corresponding authors
14. McClelland, E.E., Hobbs, L.M., Rivera, J., Casadevall, A., Potts, W.K., Smith, J.M. and Ory, J.J. 2013. The Role of Host Gender in the Pathogenesis of Cryptococcus neoformans Infections. PLoS ONE 8(5): e63632.
Grants
External: NIH (NIAID): 1R15AI178461-01 2023-2026
Internal: MU-WCOM FRD 2025-2026
Professional Service and Affiliations
Chair, Wood College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Committee
Chair, SA国际传媒 Indianapolis IACUC
President, Indiana Branch of the American Society for Microbiology
Chair, Science and Society Committee of the Indiana Academy of Sciences
Member, American Association of Immunology and the American Society of Microbiology
Associate Editor, Frontiers in Fungal Biology, Biotechnology
Community and Public Engagement
Dr. McClelland organizes the Science with a Twist event by the Indiana Academy of Sciences to bring science to the public.
