Clay D. Jackson-Litteken

Federal Grant PI

Assistant Professor

UAMS

Also affiliated: Washington University in St. Louis (2022–2025)

6 h-index 16 pubs 143 cited

Research Areas

Biomedical Subjects

Links

ORCID Research Group

OverviewAI-generated summary

Clay D. Jackson-Litteken's research focuses on understanding microbial pathogenesis and host-pathogen interactions, with a particular emphasis on *Acinetobacter baumannii* and *Borrelia turicatae*. He has investigated virulence factors, such as the invasin-like adhesin InvL and the diadenylate cyclase CdaA, and their roles in bacterial infection.

His work has also explored bacterial stress responses, including the function of the tRNA methyltransferase TrmB in *A. baumannii*. Jackson-Litteken has developed and utilized animal models, specifically chronic murine models of pulmonary infection, to study long-term virulence factors and antibiotic treatments. He has also examined the potential of existing pharmaceuticals, such as diclofenac, to sensitize multidrug-resistant bacteria to conventional antibiotics like colistin.

Jackson-Litteken is a Principal Investigator on a grant from the NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, totaling $447,720, aimed at studying and preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by *Acinetobacter*. He collaborates with researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, including Jon S. Blevins and C. Tyler Ratliff.

Metrics

h-index: 6
Publications: 16
Citations: 143

Positions

Assistant Professor 2025–present

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Microbiology and Immunology ORCID
Post-Doctoral Research Associate 2021–2024

Washington University in St. Louis Molecular Microbiology ORCID
Post-doctoral research associate 2020–2021

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Microbiology and Immunology ORCID

Selected Publications

Dual membrane-spanning anti-sigma 2 controls OMV biogenesis and colonization fitness in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (2026)

Journal of Bacteriology DOI OpenAlex
Dual Membrane-spanning Anti-Sigma 2 Controls OMV biogenesis and Colonization Fitness in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (2025)

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) DOI OpenAlex
A chronic Acinetobacter baumannii pneumonia model to study long-term virulence factors, antibiotic treatments, and polymicrobial infections (2025)

Nature Communications 16 citations DOI OpenAlex
Development and validation of systems for genetic manipulation of the Old World tick-borne relapsing fever spirochete, Borrelia duttonii (2024)

PLoS neglected tropical diseases 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
Characterization of the arthropod associated lipoprotein (Alp) in the tick-mammalian transmission cycle of Borrelia turicatae (2022)

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases 1 citation DOI OpenAlex
The Diadenylate Cyclase CdaA Is Critical for Borrelia turicatae Virulence and Physiology (2021)

Infection and Immunity 20 citations DOI OpenAlex
The BB0345 Hypothetical Protein of Borrelia burgdorferi Is Essential for Mammalian Infection (2020)

Infection and Immunity 4 citations DOI OpenAlex
Assessing the Contribution of an HtrA Family Serine Protease During Borrelia turicatae Mammalian Infection (2019)

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 7 citations DOI OpenAlex