Publications
From Ecosystems to Caves to Transplantation to gonads, this is the full lineup of our peer-reviewed chaos forged from microbes, microbiomes, and way too many late nights at the edge of what's known.
Research Papers
Microbial composition of intrauterine device biofilm correlates with complaints and abnormal removals in parous Hispanic women. 2025. Contraception and Reproductive Medicine. Hamann LK, Washburn RL, Makii M, Brown E, Hampton M, Schlabritz-Lutsevich N, Ventolini G, Phillips C, Rumbaugh KP, Tipton C, Redman WK.
Helicase-like transcription factor (Hltf)-deletion activates Hmgb1-Rage axis and granzyme A-mediated killing of pancreatic β cells resulting in neonatal lethality. 2023. PLOS ONE. Kaur G, Helmer RA, Martinez-Marin D, Sennoune SR, Washburn RL, Martinez-Zaguilan R, Dufour JM, Chilton BS.
Sertoli Cells Express Accommodation, Survival, and Immunoregulatory Factors When Exposed to Normal Human Serum. 2023. Biomedicines. Washburn RL, Martinez-Marin D, Sniegowski T, Korać K, Rodriguez AR, Miranda JM, Chilton BS, Bright RK, Pruitt K, Bhutia YD, Dufour JM.
The Sertoli Cell Complement Signature: A Suspected Mechanism in Xenograft Survival. 2023. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Washburn RL, Martinez-Marin D, Korać K, Sniegowski T, Rodriguez AR, Chilton BS, Hibler T, Pruitt K, Bhutia YD, Dufour JM.
Immunoregulatory Sertoli cell allografts engineered to express human insulin survive humoral-mediated rejection. 2022. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Washburn RL, Hibler T, Kaur G, Sabu-Kurian A, Landefeld A, Dufour JM.
Mouse Sertoli cells inhibit humoral-based rejection. 2022. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Washburn RL, Kaur G, Dufour JM.
Ginger root extract improves intestinal health in diabetic rats via improving intestinal integrity and mitochondrial function. 2022. Nutrients. Wang R, Santos JM, Dufour JM, Stephens E, Miranda JM, Washburn RL, Hibler T, Kaur G, Lin D, Shen CL.
Supplementation of a single species probiotic does not affect diversity and composition of the healthy adult gastrointestinal microbiome. 2022. Human Nutrition and Metabolism. Washburn RL, Sandberg D, Gazdik Stofer M.
Mechanisms linking endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and microRNAs to adipose tissue dysfunction in obesity. 2021. Current Research in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Menikdiwela KR, Torres Guimaraes JP, Ramalingam L, Kalupahana NS, Dufour JM, Washburn RL, Moustaid-Moussa N.
Ginger Mitigates Pain Behaviors and Improves Colon Health in Obese Rats with Diabetic Neuropathy. 2020. Obesity. Wang R, Ji G, Dufour J, Kaur G, Miranda J, Washburn RL, Hibler T, Luk H, Neugebauer V, Shen CL.
Metabolomic and Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) changes during 24-hour water-only fast in the FEELGOOD clinical crossover trials. 2019. Nutrients. Washburn RL, Horne BD, Cox JE, Miao R, Muhlestein JB, Le VT, Butler AR, May HT, Carlquist JF, Anderson JL.
Literature Reviews
Complements from the Male Reproductive Tract: A Scoping Review. 2024. BioMed. Washburn RL.
Regulation of complement by Sertoli cells may contribute to the immune protective environment within the blood-testis barrier. 2023. Tissue Barriers. Washburn RL, Dufour JM.
Complementing Testicular Immune Regulation: The Relationship between Sertoli Cells, Complement, and the Immune Response. 2023. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Washburn RL, Dufour JM.
Sertoli cell immune regulation: A double-edged sword? 2022. Frontiers in Immunology. Washburn RL, Hibler T, Kaur G, Dufour JM.
Therapeutic application of Sertoli cells for treatment of various diseases. 2021. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology. Washburn RL, Hibler T, Thompson L, Kaur G, Dufour JM.
C-peptide as a therapy for Type 1 Diabetes. 2021. Biomedicines. Washburn RL, Mueller K, Kaur G, Moreno T, Moustaid-Moussa N, Ramalingan L, Dufour JM.
Sertoli cells and complement inhibitors: A possible mechanism to increase pancreatic islet viability. 2020. Annals of Diabetes Research. Washburn RL, Kaur G, Dufour JM.
Data Products
Cave Environmental Sampling Protocol for Bulk DNA, Metabolomic, and Geochemical Analyses. 2026. protocols.io. Washburn RL.
Health on the Rocks: Geohealth in Kentucky. 2025. Kentucky Geological Survey. Washburn RL.
The Kentucky Microbiome Dataset. 2025. Kentucky Geological Survey. Curl DC, Washburn RL.
Gene expression profiles of neonatal porcine Sertoli cells at baseline and after incubation in normal human serum as determined by RNA sequencing. 2023. Tissue Barriers. Washburn RL, Dufour JM.
Pancreatic β cell-specific deletion of Helicase-like transcription factor (Hltf) activates the Hmgb1-Rage axis and granzyme A-mediated killing of pancreatic β cells resulting in neonatal lethality. 2023. PLOS ONE. Kaur G, Helmer RA, Martinez-Marin D, Sennoune SR, Washburn RL, Martinez-Zaguilan R, Dufour JM, Chilton BS.
Helicase-like transcription factor (HLTF)-deleted CDX/TME model of colorectal cancer increased transcription of oxidative phosphorylation genes and diverted glycolysis to boost S-glutathionylation in intravascular metastatic niches. 2023. protocols.io. Martinez-Marin D, Helmer RA, Kaur G, Washburn RL, Martinez-Zaguilan R, Sennone SR, Dufour JM, Chilton BS.
Conference Proceedings
Where the Wild Things Heal: Linking Subsurface Geology to Microbial Ecology and Bioactive Potential in Kentucky Caves. 2025. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Washburn RL, Curl DC, Tidgewell K, McGlue MM.
Factors Influencing Ambient Gas Concentrations in South-Central Kentucky Karst. 2025. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. High M, Washburn RL, Washburn AM, Zierer D, Walton A, Hawksley A.
A genetically engineered mouse Sertoli cell line survives chronic humoral immune factors when grafted into diabetic mice. 2022. Cancer Prevention Research. Washburn RL, Hibler T, Dufour JM.
The Role of Macrophages in Sertoli Cell Transplant Survival Without the Use of Immunosuppressive Drugs. 2022. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Kurian AS, Hibler T, Washburn RL, Boothe K, Kaur G, Dufour JM.
Seeking the Sertoli cell complement inhibitory signature to prolong transplant survival. 2022. The Journal of Immunology. Washburn RL, Kaur G, Chilton B, Reilly BD, Dufour JM.
Xenogeneic Sertoli cells express complement inhibitory proteins necessary for their survival of hyperacute rejection. 2021. The Journal of Immunology. Washburn RL, Kaur G, Dufour JM.
Washburn CHAOS Lab
Science is metal. Science is feral. Science is CHAOS.
director@washburnchaoslab.com
#washburnchaoslab
© 2025. All rights reserved.
complex host and abiotic systems
@washburnchaoslab
Feral scientists exploring hostile systems, unstable environments, and the chemistry shaping what survives there.