About

Jesse Berman, PhD, is an associate professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Public Health. He is an environmental epidemiologist whose research investigates the relationship between human health and complex environmental exposures. His work has a particular focus on evaluating how extreme weather events such as drought, heat, and precipitation, as well as air pollution and climate change, influence population-level health. Dr. Berman frequently employs spatial analysis and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to improve exposure assessment and to better understand the role of environment in disease outcomes, including spatial and neighborhood disparities in risk. His research involves analysis of large data sources like electronic health records, as well as smaller datasets and personal exposure data, with an emphasis on policy-relevant findings that can inform decision-making to protect public health.

Research topics

• Biology
• Microbiology
• Genetics
• Medicine
• Computational biology
• Ecology
• Botany
• Biotechnology
• Intensive care medicine
• Immunology
• Environmental health

Selected publications

• Tackling the emerging threat of antifungal resistance to human health

  Nature Reviews Microbiology · 2022 · 1071 citations

  • Biology
  • Biotechnology
  • Environmental health
  DOI

• <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i>and aspergillosis: From basics to clinics

  Studies in Mycology · 2021 · 229 citations

  • Biology
  • Microbiology
  • Intensive care medicine

  The airborne fungus Aspergillus fumigatus poses a serious health threat to humans by causing numerous invasive infections and a notable mortality in humans, especially in immunocompromised patients. Mould-active azoles are the frontline therapeutics employed to treat aspergillosis. The global emergence of azole-resistant A . fumigatus isolates in clinic and environment, however, notoriously limits the therapeutic options of mould-active antifungals and potentially can be attributed to a mortality rate reaching up to 100 %. Although specific mutations in CYP 51A are the main cause of azole resistance, there is a new wave of azole-resistant isolates with wild-type CYP 51A genotype challenging the efficacy of the current diagnostic tools. Therefore, applications of whole-genome sequencing are increasingly gaining popularity to overcome such challenges. Prominent echinocandin tolerance, as well as liver and kidney toxicity posed by amphotericin B, necessitate a continuous quest for novel antifungal drugs to combat emerging azole-resistant A . fumigatus isolates. Animal models and the tools used for genetic engineering require further refinement to facilitate a better understanding about the resistance mechanisms, virulence, and immune reactions orchestrated against A . fumigatus . This review paper comprehensively discusses the current clinical challenges caused by A . fumigatus and provides insights on how to address them.

  DOI

• Comparing the utility of in vivo transposon mutagenesis approaches in yeast species to infer gene essentiality

  Current Genetics · 2020 · 22 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Biology
  • Genetics
  • Computational biology

  In vivo transposon mutagenesis, coupled with deep sequencing, enables large-scale genome-wide mutant screens for genes essential in different growth conditions. We analyzed six large-scale studies performed on haploid strains of three yeast species (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccaromyces pombe, and Candida albicans), each mutagenized with two of three different heterologous transposons (AcDs, Hermes, and PiggyBac). Using a machine-learning approach, we evaluated the ability of the data to predict gene essentiality. Important data features included sufficient numbers and distribution of independent insertion events. All transposons showed some bias in insertion site preference because of jackpot events, and preferences for specific insertion sequences and short-distance vs long-distance insertions. For PiggyBac, a stringent target sequence limited the ability to predict essentiality in genes with few or no target sequences. The machine learning approach also robustly predicted gene function in less well-studied species by leveraging cross-species orthologs. Finally, comparisons of isogenic diploid versus haploid S. cerevisiae isolates identified several genes that are haplo-insufficient, while most essential genes, as expected, were recessive. We provide recommendations for the choice of transposons and the inference of gene essentiality in genome-wide studies of eukaryotic haploid microbes such as yeasts, including species that have been less amenable to classical genetic studies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Drug resistance and tolerance in fungi

  Nature Reviews Microbiology · 2020 · 607 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Biology
  • Microbiology
  • Ecology
  DOI

• Identification of Essential Genes and Fluconazole Susceptibility Genes in <i>Candida glabrata</i> by Profiling <i>Hermes</i> Transposon Insertions

  G3 Genes Genomes Genetics · 2020 · 53 citations

  • Biology
  • Genetics
  • Computational biology

  , which consume and generate alpha-ketoglutarate in mitochondria, exhibited increased and decreased resistance to fluconazole through a process that depended on Pdr1. These findings establish the utility of transposon insertion profiling in forward genetic investigations of this important pathogen of humans.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01AI062427

  NIH · $3.6M · 2016

• NIH Grant R01DE014666

  NIH · $1.8M · 2008

• NIH Grant R01GM038626

  NIH · $2.0M · 2004

• NIH Grant R29GM038626

  NIH · $490k · 1994

• NIH Grant R01AI075096

  NIH · $2.6M · 2014

Frequent coauthors

• Aleeza C. Gerstein

  University of Manitoba

  61 shared

• Feng Yang

  40 shared

• Laura S. Burrack

  Gustavus Adolphus College

  36 shared

• Anja Forche

  Bowdoin College

  29 shared

• Scott G. Filler

  University of California, Los Angeles

  24 shared

• Maryam Gerami‐Nejad

  University of Minnesota

  22 shared

• Meleah A. Hickman

  Emory University

  21 shared

• Cheryl A. Gale

  University of Minnesota Medical Center

  20 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Public Health

  University of Minnesota

  2008

• M.S., Public Health

  University of Minnesota

  2003

• B.A., Environmental Science

  University of California, Los Angeles

  2001

Awards & honors

• Charles N Hewitt Creative Teaching Award (2023)
• Best Environmental Epidemiology Paper (2019) from the Intern…
• Selected Extramural Publication (2017) by the National Insti…
• Gaylord Donnelley Postdoctoral Environmental Fellowship, Yal…
• David L Swift Award for Aerosol Research in Environmental He…

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