Heshmat Sanam Meradj PhD, DDS/DMD candidate

Simon Fraser University, Gries Lab, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada

Peer-reviewed Publications

  1. Meraj, S., Salcedo-Porras, N., Lowenberger, C., Gries, G. (2024). Activation of immune pathways in common bed bugs, Cimex lectularius, in response to bacterial immune challenges - a transcriptomics analysis. Frontiers in Immunology.
  2. Meraj, S., Phung, P., Lau, K., Gries, G. (2024). Common Bed Bugs: Non-Viable Hosts for Trypanosoma rangeli Parasites. Cells.
  3. Nayani, S., Meraj, S., Renyard, A., Gries, G. (2024). Blood-feeding stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera: Muscidae), are attracted to, and transmit Staphylococcus aureus (Bacillales: Staphylococcaceae), a causal agent of bovine mastitis: a laboratory pilot study. Journal of Medical Entomology.
  4. Meraj, S., Dhari, A. S., Mohr, E., Lowenberger, C., Gries, G. (2024). A novel prolixicin identified in common bed bugs with activity against both bacteria and parasites. Scientific Reports.
  5. Nayani, S., Meraj, S., Mohr, E., Gries, R., Kovacs, E., Devireddy, A., Gries, G. (2023). Staphylococcus microbes in the bovine skin microbiome attract blood-feeding stable flies. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11:1212222.
  6. Fischer, A., Gries, R., Alamsetti, K., Hung, E., Torres, A., Fernando, S., Meraj, S., Ren, W., Britton, R., Gries, G. (2022). Origin, structure, and functional transition of contact sex pheromone components to mate attractant pheromone components in a widow spider. Communications Biology, 5, 1156. (Ph.D. work)
  7. Meraj, S., Dhari, A. S., Mohr, E., Lowenberger, C., Gries, G. (2022). Characterization of new defensin antimicrobial peptides and their expression in bed bugs in response to bacterial ingestion and injection. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(19): 11505. (Ph.D. work)
  8. Meraj, S., Gries, G. (2022). The innate and adaptive immune system of the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius: Current knowledge and research opportunities. Hemiptera - Recent Updates. IntechOpen. Book Chapter. Online Access. (Ph.D. work)
  9. Meraj, S., Mohr, E., Ketabchi, N., Bogdanovic, A., Lowenberger, C., Gries, R. (2021). Time- and tissue-specific antimicrobial activity of common bed bugs in response to blood feeding and immune activation by bacterial injection. Journal of Insect Physiology, 135, 104322. (Ph.D. work)
  10. Peach, D., Almond, M., Ko, E., Meraj, S., Gries, R., Gries, G. (2021). Cheese and cheese infusions – ecological traps for mosquitoes and spotted wing Drosophila. Pest Management Science, 77: 5599–5607. (Undergraduate work)
  11. Peach, D., Carroll, C., Meraj, S., Gomes, S., Galloway, E., Balcita, A., Coatsworth, H., Young, N., Uriel, Y., Gries, R., Lowenberger, C., Moore, M., Gries, G. (2020). Nectar-dwelling microbes of common tansy are attractive to its mosquito pollinator, Culex pipiens L. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 21(1), 29. (Undergraduate work)

Awards, Honors, and Presentations

Awards and Scholarships