Faculty Profile for Dr. Lauren Fuess

profile photo for Dr. Lauren Fuess
Dr. Lauren Fuess
Assistant Professor — Biology
SUPP 384
phone: (512) 245-2178
Scholarly/Creative Work
Awards
Grants
Service

Biography Section

Research Interests

 My research focuses on understanding the ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences of variation in immune response among individuals. In particular I focus on the effects of symbiotic relationships on host immunity, and the impacts of these relationships on ecosystems.

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Fuess, L. E., & Bolnick, D. I. (2023). Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals micro-evolution of the stickleback immune system. Genome Biology & Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evad053
  • Changsut, I. V., Womack, H. R., Shickle, A., Sharp, K. H., & Fuess, L. E. (2022). Variation in symbiont density is linked to changes in constitutive immunity in the facultatively symbiotic coral, Astrangia poculata. Biology Letters. Retrieved from https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.06.16.496460v1
  • Weber, J. N., Steinel, N. C., Peng, F., Shim, K. C., Lohman, B. K., Fuess, L. E., … Bolnick, D. I. (2022). Evolutionary gain and loss of a pathological immune response to parasitism. Science, 377(6611). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abo3411
  • Fuess, L. E., den Haan, S., Ling, Weber, J. N., Steinel, N. C., & Bolnick, D. I. (2021). Immune gene expression covaries with gut microbiome composition in stickleback. mBio, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00145-21
  • Changsut, I. V., Borbee, E. M., Womack, H., Shickle, A., Sharp, K., & Fuess, L. E. (n.d.). Photosymbiont density is correlated with constitutive and induced immunity in the facultatively symbiotic coral, Astrangia poculata. Integrative & Comparative Biology.

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Robert Lochmiller Award, Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology, Division of EcoImmunology & Disease Ecology. January 2023
  • Award / Honor Recipient: TXST COSE Achievement Award for Scholarly/Creative Activities, Texas State College of Science and Engineering. 2023 - Present
  • Award / Honor Nominee: Huey Award for Best Student Presentation, Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Division of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. 2018
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Dean's Award for Best Oral Presentation, University of Texas at Arlington. 2016
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Outstanding Graduate Research Award, University of Texas at Arlington Biology Department. 2016

Selected Grants

  • Fuess, Lauren Elizabeth (Principal), Sharp, Katherine H (Co-Principal). BRC-BIO: Establishing Astrangia poculata as a study system to understand how multi-partner symbiotic interactions affect pathogen response in cnidarians, National Science Foundation, Federal, $490280. (Submitted: December 2022, Funded: January 2024 - December 2026). Grant.
  • Fuess, Lauren Elizabeth, Gabor, Caitlin. Planning: CREST Center in Bioinformatics, National Science Foundation, Federal, $199960. (Submitted: June 2023, Funded: September 2023 - August 2025). Grant.
  • Fuess, Lauren Elizabeth (Principal), Gignoux-Wolfsohn, Sarah (Co-Principal). RAPID: Leveraging a natural bleaching event to assess links between bleaching and disease, National Science Foundation, Federal, $199134. (Submitted: September 2023). Grant.
  • Gignoux-Wolfsohn, Sarah (Principal), Fuess, Lauren Elizabeth (Supporting). Identifying Predictors of Coral Disease Resistance, Paul M. Angell Foundation, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $75000. (Submitted: July 2021). Grant.
  • Fuess, Lauren Elizabeth (Principal), Gignoux-Wolfsohn, Sarah (Co-Principal). Supplement- RAPID: Leveraging a Natural Bleaching Event to Assess Links between Bleaching and Disease, National Science Foundation, Federal, $46250. (Submitted: March 2024, Funded: May 2024 - April 2024). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Member
Postdoc Development Working Group
2023-Present
Member
Microbiology Cluster Hire Search Committee
September 2023-Present
Chair
Francis Rose Scholarship for Excellence in Undergraduate Research Committee
September 2023-Present
Member
Lamar & Marilynn Johanson Graduate Endowment in Biology Scholarship Committee
2022-Present
Mentor
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Meet an EcoImmunologist Mentor
2021-Present