University of Pittsburgh logo

William H. DePas, PhD

  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

William DePas, PhD, earned his BS in Microbiology from Michigan State University in 2008 and his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Michigan in 2014. As a Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation postdoctoral fellow at Caltech, he worked on developing and utilizing novel imaging techniques to better understand the infection environment, specifically investigating the role of bacterial biofilm formation during chronic infections in CF. Dr. DePas joined Department of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases as an assistant professor in 2019.

Dr. DePas is focused on developing a clear picture of the biogeography of infection sites, determining how the spatial structure impacts bacterial activity and interactions with host cells, and recapitulating important aspects of the infection environment in vitro in order to gain an in-depth understanding of cellular processes that are relevant to pathogenesis. To achieve these goals, he utilizes MiPACT-HCR, a tissue-clearing and cellular visualization technique that allows for 3D imaging of fixed tissue samples, along with in vitro techniques to characterize the formation and dispersal of bacterial biofilms in conditions that mimic the in vivo environment. Dr. DePas is chiefly interested in nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), emerging pathogens that are particularly problematic for patients with underlying lung disorders such as CF. By applying the described methodology, he is working to determine the context in which NTM form biofilms during infection and how biofilm formation contributes to disease severity.

Education & Training

  • BS, Michigan State University, 2008
  • PhD, University of Michigan, 2014

Selected Publications

Appledorn DM, Aldhamen YA, DePas W, Seregin SS, Liu CJ, Schuldt N, Quach D, Quiroga D, Godbehere S, Zlatkin I, Kim S, McCormick JJ, Amalfitano A. (2010) A new adenovirus based vaccine vector expressing an Eimeria tenella derived TLR agonist improves cellular immune responses to an antigenic target. PLoS One. Mar 8;5(3):e9579.

DePas WH, Hufnagel DA, Lee JS, Blanco LP, Bernstein HC, Fisher ST, James GA, Stewart PS, Chapman MR. (2013) Iron induces bimodal population development by Escherichia coli. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 110:2629‐2634.

Hufnagel DA, DePas WH, Chapman MR. (2014) The disulfide bonding system suppresses CsgD‐independent cellulose production in Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 196:3690‐3699.

DePas WH, Syed AK, Sifuentes M, Lee JS, Warshaw D, Saggar V, Csankovszki G, Boles BR, Chapman MR. (2014) Biofilm formation protects Escherichia coli against killing by Caenorhabditis elegans and Myxococcus xanthus. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 80:7079‐7087.

Floyd KA, Mitchell CA, Eberly AR, Colling SJ, Zhang EW, DePas W, Chapman MR, Conover M, Rogers BR, Hultgren SJ, Hadjifrangiskou M. (2016) The Ubil (VisC) aerobic ubiquinone synthase is required for expression of type 1 pili, biofilm formation, and pathogenesis in uropathogenic Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 198(19):2662‐2672.

DePas WH*, Starwalt‐Lee R*, Van Sambeek L, Ravindra S, Gradinaru V, Newman DK (2016). Exposing the 3D biogeography and metabolic states of pathogens in cystic fibrosis sputum via hydrogel embedding, clearing, and rRNA labeling. mBio. 7(5):e00796‐16. (Editor’s Pick for Vol. 7 Issue 5, and an image from this study was selected as the mBio Featured Image for the same issue)

DePas WH, Bergkessel M, Newman DK (2019). Aggregation of nontuberculous mycobacteria is regulated by carbon:nitrogen balance. mBio. 10(4):e01715-19.

Gallego-Hernandez, A. L.&, DePas, W.H.&, Park J.H. &, Teschler, J. K.&, Hartmann, R., Jeckel, H., Drescher, K., Beyhan, S., Newman, D. K.*, and Yildiz F. H. * (2020) Upregulation of virulence genes promotes Vibrio cholerae biofilm hyperinfectivity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 201916571; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1916571117

Jackson, L., DePas, W., Morris, A. J., Guttman, K., Yau, Y. C. W., Waters, V. (2020) Visualization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa within the Sputum of Cystic Fibrosis Patients. J. Vis. Exp. (161), e61631, doi:10.3791/61631.

Wells, A.I., Grimes, K.A., Kim, K., Branche, E., Bakkenist, C.J., DePas, W.H., Shresta, S., Coyne, C. (2021) Human FcRn expression and Type I Interferon signaling control Echovirus 11 pathogenesis mice PLoS Pathog. 29;17(1):e1009252.

Armbruster, C.R., Marshall, C.W., Garber, A.I., Melvin, J.A., Zemke, A.C., Moore, J., Zamora, P.F., Li, K., Fritz, I.L., Manko, C.D., Weaver, M.L., Gaston, J.R., Morris, A., Methé, B., DePas, W.H., Lee, S.E., Cooper, V.S., Bomberger, J.M., (2021). Adaptation and genomic erosion in fragmented Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations in the sinuses of people with cystic fibrosis. Cell Rep. 37, 109829. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109829

Full Publication List via NIH PubMed »

 

Academic and Research Interests

  • Bacterial Pathogenesis
  • Biofilms
  • Bacterial metabolism
  • Infectious diseases
  • Host-pathogen Interactions
  • Cystic Fibrosis
  • Nontuberculous Mycobacteria