Kristopher Schmidt

Dr. Kristopher Schmidt completed his academic training in Canada, at Trinity Western University (B.Sc.), the University of British Columbia (M.Sc.), and Simon Fraser University (Ph.D.). He currently serves as Professor of Biology and Biomedicine Program Director in the Natural Sciences Department at EMU. Dr. Schmidt teaches a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses, including: Concepts in Biology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Advanced Human Physiology, and Intercultural Healthcare. Dr. Schmidt is thrilled to be at EMU and loves the opportunity to teach so many different students and to interact with great colleagues!

In addition to teaching, Dr. Schmidt leads an active research program that uses molecular biology approaches to study infectious disease in both laboratory and public health settings. Current projects include:

Microbial Genomics in Global Health Contexts: Part of Dr. Schmidt's research takes place in Peru, where he uses molecular approaches, including genomics, to study antimicrobial resistance (AMR). His current work centers on a Wellcome Trust–funded project that takes a "Genomics in Context" approach to tracking AMR genes in the rivers and water sources used by Indigenous communities in the Ucayali region of the Peruvian Amazon. A related project in the Piura region of northern Peru uses similar molecular methods to study how microbial profiles in local water sources vary with human individual and social factors. At these and other sites, Dr. Schmidt works with field biologists, statisticians, physicians, public health officials, and anthropologists. Some of this work also draws on long-held Indigenous knowledge of local waterways and land use, alongside laboratory data. In those cases, the communities help shape the questions, choose sampling sites, and contribute to decisions about how the results are used.

Students involved in this work learn: metagenomic and whole-genome sequencing of microbes from human and environmental samples, DNA extraction and sample processing, bacterial culture, qPCR, bioinformatics, intercultural competency, and community-engaged field research in Peru. This is exciting work if you are interested in public health and molecular biology, especially if you enjoy working across cultures in interdisciplinary, collaborative teams.

Host-Pathogen Interactions using C. elegans: Here at home, we use the nematode C. elegans to dissect the molecular basis of host defense against bacterial infection. One project focuses on the excretory cell, a single-celled kidney that controls fluid balance. We have shown that unc-53/Nav2 is required for the immune response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, where it functions in trafficking within the excretory cell. We are now using RNA sequencing, transgenic lines, and classical and molecular genetics to define how this trafficking maintains osmotic balance during infection. A second project aims to better understand the pathogenesis of the bacterium Elizabethkingia anophelis, an emerging, understudied, and sometimes fatal human pathogen. E. anophelis is common in the environment and usually harmless. In 2015–2016, however, a strain carrying a disrupted DNA repair gene, mutY, caused an outbreak in Wisconsin that resulted in 66 infections and several deaths. We are using C. elegans to examine how molecular changes like these affect the pathogenicity of E. anophelis. So far, we have established that E. anophelis infects C. elegans: it colonizes the intestine and shortens lifespan, and it is countered by the conserved p38 MAPK immune pathway. Worms also learn to avoid it through chemosensory signaling. Our analysis of the host transcriptional response points to changes in lipid metabolism as a contributor to disease. While those are the main projects underway, an interesting third line of inquiry emerged that was largely student-led.  In that work, we recently used C. elegans to study acn-1, the worm ortholog of human ACE and ACE2 (the SARS-CoV-2 receptor), and showed that it helps regulate the antioxidant stress response in the intestine, an important immune site in nematodes.

Students involved in this work learn: RNA sequencing and transcriptomic analysis, C. elegans genetics and techniques, RNAi and transgenic approaches, infection and survival assays, and fluorescence microscopy with quantitative image analysis. If you are excited about molecular biology and like the idea of working in the lab or at a computer, these projects might be right for you.

Please reach out if you are interested in this research. I can usually take a few students each semester for BIOL 479 and/or BMC 623.  Spring semester is better than Fall.

I try to create learning environments where students feel listened to and respected. Respecting students means showing up as best I can and being available as a mentor and cheerleader for their professional goals. I hope students can work on complex problems in active and interdisciplinary ways in my classes, but I also appreciate that grinding through the basics matters too. As a biologist and professor, I see it as my responsibility to challenge students to become active learners, to engage them in the process of scientific research, and to help them grow into well-educated, kind, ethical, and thoughtful science-citizens.

J. Jantzen, M. Lehman, J. Miller, R. Enke and K.L. Schmidt.  Navigating the Navs: Applying RNA-seq Tools to Understand the Differential Isoform Expression of unc-53/Nav2 in Caenorhabditis elegans. Society for Neuroscience Virginia Tech 2024

C. Lehman, M. Kinkaid, S. Mast, D. Afful, M.Baker, J. Landis, A. Paetkau, B. Wright E. Stringham, and K. L. Schmidt. The cytoskeletal regulatory protein UNC-53/Nav2 controls cell death processes in Caenorhabditis elegans, International C. elegans Meeting UCLA 2021.

C. Lehman, M. Kinkaid, S. Mast, D. Afful, E. Stringham, and K. L. Schmidt. Innate immune responses of Caenorhabditis elegans to the emerging pathogen Elizabethkingia anophelis, International C. elegans Meeting UCLA 2021.

K.L. Schmidt. Implementing a large nephron drawing approach to teach renal physiology. AAC&U Transforming STEM Higher Education Conference, Chicago, IL. 2019.

C. Lehman, M. Kinkaid, S. Mast, D. Afful, E. Stringham, and K. L. Schmidt. unc-53/Nav2 inhibits the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells in Caenorhabditis elegans. ASCB/EMBO Conference, Washington D.C. 2019.

E. R. Fajardo, and K. L. Schmidt. Caenorhabditis elegans innate immune response to Bartonella bacilliformis. ASCB/EMBO Conference, Washington D.C. 2019

Mercier C., and KL. Schmidt. unc-53 functions in innate immunity through its action in the excretory cell.  ASM Local Chapeter Meeting – Shenandoah Valley. Blue Ridge Community College, Weyer’s Cave, VA.  2018.

Ispas G., Baumgartner A, and K.L. Schmidt.  unc-53 limits acetylcholine transmission in Caenorhabditis elegans.  Butler Undergraduate Research Conference.  Indianapolis, IN.  2014.

Hochstetler A., Quiroz J, and K.L. Schmidt.  Extending the neuron navigator pathway: employing genetic screens to identify novel unc-53/Nav2 interacting genes in Caenorhabditis elegans.  Indiana Academy of Sciences.  Indianapolis, IN.  2013.

K.L. Schmidt. Building Research into the Biological Sciences Curriculum. Conrad-Grebel University College Marpeck Conference. Kitchener-Waterloo, ON. 2014.

K.L. Schmidt. Novel roles for UNC-53/NAV2 in the Innate Immune Response. Central Michigan University. Mt. Pleasant, MI. 2013.

K.L. Schmidt. unc-53 controls innate immunity in Caenorhabditis elegans. Butler University. Indianapolis, IN. 2013.

K.L. Schmidt. Navigating the Immune Response: UNC­53/NAV2 Mediates Multiple Aspects of Innate Immunity. Goshen College. Goshen, IN. 2012

• Principal Investigator, NSF-S-STEM Track II "Interdisciplinary Pathways to STEM Success and Sustainability: A Place-Based Restoration Effort", 2024-2031
• Co-Principal Investigator, Wellcome Trust Genomics in Context Award "Connecting Indigenous Knowledge and Environmental Genomics for Water-Based Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) Surveillance in the Peruvian Eastern Amazon", 2026-28
• Co-Principal Investigator, NSF-Noyce "Preparing Secondary STEM Teachers to Improve STEM Learning in High-need Schools by Applying Restorative Justice in Education", 2021-2026
• Co-Principal Investigator, 4VA Advancing the Commonwealth (State Research Grant) "Testing the Efficacy of Radio Waves to Activate Biological Receptors", 2021-2024
• Principal Investigator, NSF-MRI “Acquisition of a High-Resolution Fluorescence Cumulant Analysis Stereomicroscope to Enhance Research and Teaching at Eastern Mennonite University”, 2018-2022
• Principal Investigator, NSF-REPS "Applying a Quantitative Genomics Approach to Identify the Protective Roles of UNC-53 in Innate Immunity", 2021-2022

Education Fellow for the American Society of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry (2015-Present)

Board Member (Ex officio) of Sembrando Esperanza Peru (2022-Present)