Scott E. Lindner
About Me
Dr. Scott E. Lindner was born and raised in Chicagoland. He did his undergraduate training at the Florida Institute of Technology (Melbourne, FL), which is far warmer than Chicago in the winter. Dr. Lindner then completed his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which is slightly colder than Chicago in the winter. Dr. Lindner conducted post-doctoral training in x-ray crystallography (University of Wisconsin-Madison), as well as molecular parasitology at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, which is far rainier than Chicago. Since 2013, Dr. Lindner has been a faculty member in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Penn State University in State College, PA, which he finds to be a lovely place to live and work.
Department or University Committees (2023-2024)
- Huck Leadership Fellow / Member of the Huck Executive Committee
- Biotechnology Curriculum and Assessment Committee (BMB)
- Peer Teaching Evaluation Committee (BMB)
- Schreyer Honors College - Honors Advisor (BMB)
- Chair of the Sabbatical Review Committee (Eberly College of Science)
Program or Department Affiliations
| The BMMB Graduate Program | Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative BioSciences (MCIBS) |
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
| Member of the Rainbow Science Network, Eberly College of Science |
Professional Service
|
Chair and Panel Member of Department of Defense Study Sections, Ad Hoc Panel Member of NIH Study Sections Councilor-at-Large – American Committee of Molecular, Cellular, and Immunoparasitology (ACMCIP) subgroup of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) |
Centers
| Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics | Center for RNA Molecular Biology |
Research Summary
Our laboratory couples molecular parasitology and structural biology to study the malaria parasite (Plasmodium spp.). Malaria is still one of the great global health challenges today. Conservative estimates from the World Health Organization indicate that, every year, about 500 million people become infected, and of these people nearly 1 million people will die from their infection. Significant efforts have been made to develop new drugs and vaccines, however, the mounting resistance to these drugs and the limited efficacy of the current generation of vaccines have not allowed for the goals of elimination and eradication of the parasite to be met.
In response to this, our laboratory conducts Discovery Phase research using the mouse-infective malaria parasite Plasmodium yoelii that focuses oncrucial aspects of the parasite’s growth, development, and transmission.
Translational Regulation During Parasite Transmission
Our group works to determine mechanisms translational control by specific protein/RNA complexes during transmission from a mosquito to a mammal, and vice versa. This work has been funded since 2013 by awards from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and pushes the practical and technical boundaries of working with gametocytes and sporozoite stages of the malaria parasite. Through this work, we seek to uncover how the parasite produces and maintains this latent infectious state as it awaits the unpredictable moment of transmission from the mosquito.
Honors or Awards
| 2023 | Session Co-Chair, ASTMH Annual Meeting |
| 2022 | Outstanding Collaborative Research Team Award |
| 2020-2021 | Daniel R. Tershak Memorial Teaching Award |
| 2021 | Session Co-Chair, BioMalPar, Heidelberg, Germany |
| 2020 | Session Co-Chair, Molecular Parasitology Meeting (MPM), Woods Hole, MA |
| 2019 | Session Co-Chair, ASTMH Annual Meeting |
| 2019 |
Keynote Speaker, Future of Malaria Research Symposium |
| 2019 |
Co-Organizer, Pennsylvania Parasitology Conference (PAraCon 2019) |
| 2018 |
Co-Organizer, Pennsylvania Parasitology Conference (PAraCon 2018) |
| 2018 |
BioMalPar; EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany. CRISPR Workshop Co-Chair |
| 2014 |
ASTMH Pre-Meeting Course, Advances in Proteomics and Metabolomics: Toward Dissecting Host-Pathogen Interactions; Co-Organizer (with Manuel Llinás) |
| 2013 - 2015 |
NIAID K22 Research Scholar Development Award |
| 2010 |
U. Washington / Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Future Faculty Fellow |
| 2009 - 2011 |
NIAID F32 Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow |
| 2009 |
Molecular Parasitology Meeting, Award for Excellent Oral Presentation |
| 2001 |
Graduated with magna cum laude distinction, Florida Institute of Technology |
| 2001 |
Frank G. Brooks Award for Excellence in Student Research, Tri-Beta District I |
| 2000 - 2001 |
Tri-Beta National Biological Honor Society |
| 2000 - 2001 |
Outstanding Senior in Molecular Biology, Florida Institute of Technology |
| 1997 - 2001 |
Presidential Scholarship, Florida Institute of Technology |
| 1997 - 2001 |
Dean’s List, Florida Institute of Technology |
Selected Publications
- To view publications for Dr. Scott Lindner visit his Penn State PURE Page or his NCBI My Bibliography Page.