Rebecca Schmidt, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Biology
970-870-4433 | rschmidt3@coloradomtn.edu

Education

• Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rochester, MN
• B.A., Lawrence University, Appleton, WI

Awards

In 2018, Rebecca was recognized with the LSAMP-IINSPIRE Program Award for Excellence in Mentoring promoting under-represented minority participation in STEM.

Selected Publications

• Clark SE, Schmidt RL, Aguilera ER, Lenz LL. (2020) IL-10-produing NK Cells Exacerbate Sublethal Streptococcus penumoniae infection in the lung. Translational Research. 226:70-82. doi: 10.1016/j.trsl.2020.07.001
• Van Sciver RE, Lee MP, Dasom Lee C, Lafever AC, Svyatova E, Kanda K, Collier AL, Siewertsz van Reesema LL, Tang-Tan AM, Zheleva V, Bwayi MN, Bian M, Schmidt RL, Matrisian LM, Petersen GM, Tang A. (2018). A New Strategy to Control and Eradicate “Undruggable” Oncogenic K-RAS-Driven Pancreatic Cancer: Principles Learned from Developmental and Evolutionary Biology. MDPI Cancers. May 14;10(5)
• Schmidt, R.L. (2014) A Roadmap to Understanding Toll Pathway Changes: An Educational Primer for use with "Regulation of Toll signaling and inflammation by β-arrestin and the SUMO protease Ulp1" GENETICS 196:923-929.
• Schmidt, R. L. and Lenz, L.L. (2013) “Adjuvants Targeting the DNA Sensing Pathways– Cyclic-di-GMP and Other Cyclic-di-Nucleotides” Book Chapter in DNA Sensing: The impact of dsDNA on Disease and Vaccinology ed. Ishi, K., and Tang, J.C.K. Elsevier
• Schmidt, R.L. and Lenz, L.L. (2012) Distinct Licensing of IL-18 and IL-1β Secretion in Response to NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation. Public Library of Science ONE 7(9): e45186. Epub Sept 18.
• Schmidt, R.L., Trejo, T.R., Plummer, T.B., Platt, J.L., Tang, A.H. (2008) Infection-induced proteolysis of PGRP-LC controls the IMD activation and melanization cascades in Drosophila. FASEB J. Mar;22(3):918-29. (Epub Oct 16, 2007)
• Schmidt, R.L., Ahmed, A., Park, C.H., Gundelach, J.H., Cheng S., Knudsen B. and Tang A.H. (2007) Inhibition of RAS-Mediated Tumorigenesis by Blocking the SIAH-E3 Ligase-Dependent Proteolysis. Cancer Res. Dec 15;67(24):11798-810.

Professional Interests/Associations

I am interested in all types of cells, from bacteria to human physiology and cancer biology. I love thinking about how cells interact with each other, whether these are microbial cells fighting for resources, pathogens interfering with our immune system, or transformation of cancer cells. I enjoy staying current with these fields as a member of the American Society of Microbiology and the American Society of Cell Biology. I am passionate about helping everyone gain a foundational knowledge of biology and its relevance to daily life!