Professional Bio
James Higginbotham, PhD, is a Research Instructor in Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrution, Department of Medicine, and works in the EBC (Epithelial Biology Center) in the Coffey lab at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The major focus of his work centers around EVs (Extracellular Vesicles). EVs display extreme heterogeneity which is a major impediment to studying their biogenesis and function. Recently our work has demonstrated that current methods of isolation generally yield mixed populations of EVs and NPs (Nonvesicular Nanoparticles) that cloud our understanding.
Most recently Dr. Higginbotham and fellow researchers have identified a novel NP (supermeres) which by atomic force microscopy have about half the volume of exomeres. Interestingly labeled supermeres accumulate more efficiently than exosomes or exomeres in kidney, liver, and spleen and surprisingly supermeres cross the blood-brain barrier. Functionally supermeres can transfer drug resistance to reciepient cells and alter liver metabolism. I have developed a flow cytometry method to analyze and sort subsets of EVs and NPs for subsequent LC-MS/MS.
Publications
Education
MS - Biological Sciences - Mississippi State University, 1991
Fellowship - Human Gene Therapy - Central Iowa, 2000
PhD - Biological Sciences - Mississippi State University, 2000
Contact
Email
Kimryn.Rathmell@Vumc.Org
Address
777 Preston Research Building
2220 Pierce Ave
Nashville, TN 37232-6307