Cheryl Nickerson

Dr. Nickerson’s multidisciplinary research blends microbiology, tissue engineering, physics and mathematical modeling to mimic the dynamic interactions between microorganisms, their microenvironment, and infected hosts in both terrestrial and spaceflight conditions - with a focus on the connection between cellular biomechanics and host-pathogen systems biology. Specifically, her lab studies the effects of biomechanical forces of fluid shear on microbial pathogen and mammalian host cellular responses, how these responses regulate the transition between normal cellular homeostasis or infectious disease progression, and the translation of this knowledge to biomedical and biotechnology applications for astronauts and the general public on Earth. Her team’s research helped to establish the field of “mechanobiology of infectious disease” by characterizing effects of the physical force of fluid shear experienced by microbial pathogens in the infected host, as well as in the microgravity environment of spaceflight. An important foundation for this field was laid with her team’s discovery that physiological fluid shear forces regulate microbial virulence in the major foodborne pathogen Salmonella.

Dr. Nickerson’s research also uses physiological fluid shear environments to develop high fidelity 3-D biomimetic tissue models as predictive human surrogates that enable host-pathogen, host-microbiome, and antimicrobial efficacy profiling in a microenvironment that better reflects in vivotissues. Her work has shown that these 3-D tissue model systems respond to infection with pathogens, their toxins, commensals, and antimicrobials in important ways that reflect the infection process in vivo, and which are not recapitulated by traditional in vitro cell culture models. Her lab was the first group to apply 3-D tissue culture models to study bacterial pathogens. This work has unveiled novel cellular and molecular mechanisms relevant to the in vivo disease process that are not discernable using conventional experimental approaches and has contributed new insight into the infection process from both the host and pathogen perspective. 

In addition, Dr. Nickerson’s research team is actively involved in characterizing the “Microbiome of the Built Environment” as it pertains to both infectious disease risks for astronauts and biofouling of environmental life support systems of spacecraft, which are critical for the integrity and sustainability of human space habitats.  Her team has also added in situ resource utilization and space biomanufacturing to their research portfolio.  Collectively, this work has led to a robust portfolio of spaceflight biomedical and biotechnology experiments focused on astronaut health and habitat sustainability that have flown on many NASA Shuttle, SpaceX, and Northrop Grumman missions to the International Space Station.

Dr. Nickerson has received several awards and recognition for her research, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE); the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal; invited Congressional Testimony on the importance of NASA’s spaceflight life sciences and biomedical research for the health of astronauts and the public; selection as a Distinguished Lecturer for the American Society for Microbiology (ASM); enabled a rare Space Act Agreement between Arizona State University and NASA based on her team’s spaceflight biomedical research; Founding Editor-in-Chief of Nature journal, npj Microgravity; invited service on numerous NASA, NIH, National Academies, and ASM blue ribbon panels to shape the vision of the future of microbial and host-microbe interaction research; and was selected as a NASA Astronaut Candidate Finalist.

Publications and Videos

• A full list of Dr. Nickerson’s publications may be found at NIH National Library of Medicine
• “Catalyst” follows ASU professor and microbiologist Cheryl Nickerson in this PBS video entitled "Racing against Infectious Diseases" as she seeks to find cures for infectious diseases. Video on Arizona PBS