Maria Teresa Fernandez-Luna, PhD

Education

• Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), Mexico, 2010
• M.S. in Biochemistry, Instituto de Biotecnologia, Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), Mexico, 2005
• B.S. in Biology, Universidad de Guadalajara (UdG), Mexico, 2002

Professional Experience

• Lecturer, Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, 2018-Present
• Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology, University of Mary-Hardin Baylor (UMHB), Belton, TX, 2017-2018
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 2013-2016
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside, CA, 2010-2012

Major areas of research

• Microbiology
• Bacterial Toxins
• Molecular Biology

Courses Taught

Undergraduate Biology Courses

• BIO 1305 Modern Concepts of Bioscience I
• BIO 1306 Modern Concepts of Bioscience II
• BIO 1401 Current Issues in Human Biology
• BIO 2306 Genetics

Publications

Tetreau, G., Banneville, A.S., Andreeva, E.A., Brewster, A.S., Hunter, M.S., Sierra, R.G., Teulon, J.M., Young, I.D., Burke, N., Grünewald, T.A., Beaudouin, J., Snigireva, I., Fernandez-Luna, M.T., Burt, A., Park, H.W., Signor, L., Bafna, J.A., Sadir, R., Fenel, D., Boeri-Erba, E., Bacia, M., Zala, N., Laporte, F., Després, L., Weik, M., Boutet, S., Rosenthal, M., Coquelle, N., Burghammer, M., Cascio, D., Sawaya, M.R., Winterhalter, M., Gratton, E., Gutsche, I., Federici, B., Pellequer, J.L., Sauter, N.K., Colletier, J.P. Serial femtosecond crystallography on in vivo-grown crystals drives elucidation of mosquitocidal Cyt1Aa bioactivation cascade. Nature Communications 11 (2020), 1153.

Fernandez-Luna, M.T., Hall, D.G., Mitchell, T., Blackburn, M.B., Bonning, B.C. Identification of Bacillus thuringiensis strains and individual toxins with activity against Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera). Toxins 11(2019), 173.

Deist, M., Rausch, M., Fernandez-Luna, M.T., Adang, M.J., Bonning, B.C. Bt toxin modification for enhanced efficacy. Toxins 6(2014), 3005-3027.

Bideshi, D.K., Waldrop, G., Fernandez-Luna, M.T., Diaz-Mendoza, M., Wirth, M.C., Johnson, J.J., Park, H.W., Federici, B.A. Intermolecular interaction between Cry2Aa and Cyt1Aa and its effect on larvicidal activity against Culex quinquefasciatus. Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 23 (2013), 1107-1115.

Fernandez-Luna, M.T., Tabashnik, B.E., Lanz-Mendoza, H., Bravo, A., Soberon, M., Miranda-Rios, J. Single-concentration tests show synergism among Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis toxins against the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles albimanus. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 104 (2010), 231-233.

Fernandez-Luna, M.T., Lanz-Mendoza, H., Gill, S.S., Bravo, A., Soberon, M., Miranda-Rios, J. An alpha-amylase is a novel receptor for Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis Cry4Ba and Cry11Aa toxins in the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles albimanus (Diptera: Culicidae). Environmental Microbiology 12 (2010), 746-757.

Fernandez-Luna, M.T., Miranda-Rios, J. Riboswitch folding: one at a time and step by step. RNA Biology 5 (2008), 20-23.

Mendez, E., Fernandez-Luna, M.T., Lopez, S., Mendez-Toss, M., Arias, C.F. Proteolytic processing of a serotype 8 human Astrovirus ORF2 polyprotein. Journal of Virology 76 (2002), 7996-8002.

Patents

Publication number: 20180127771. Publication date: May 10, 2018. Insecticidal Toxins for Plant Resistance to Hemiptera.