Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Humberto Boncristiani 

Contact

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Founder of Inside The Hive Media & Consulting Inc. www.InsideTheHive.TV   (2021 - Present)  

Consultant/ Communication & Science Advisor for One Hive Foundation. (2023 - Present)

Consultant/Advisor for Dalan Animal Health  - www.Dalan.com   (2021-2022)    

Applied Honey bee Researcher at the Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory - University of Florida. (2018-2020)

Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Senior Scientist at HealthyBees, LLC.  (2017)

Research Scientist at the Department of Entomology, University of Maryland. (2015-2017)

Chief Technology Officer (CTO), USA Site Lead, and Senior Scientist at Forrest Innovations

Technology development of products using RNAi technology against citrus greening and mosquitoes. An Israeli start-up company with three subsidiaries (Israel, USA, and Brazil).

www.Forrestinnovations.com (2013-2014)

NRC, National Research Council, Fellow  (National Academy of Sciences) Chemical and Biological Defense Laboratory - ARO-US Army Research Office

Research on honey bee health, focusing on honeybee pathogens.

http://nrc58.nas.edu/RAPLab10/Opportunity/Program.aspx?LabCode=01&ReturnURL=%2fRAPLab10%2fOpportunity%2fPrograms.aspx%3fLabCode%3d01

(2011-2012).

Research Associate at the USDA

Bee Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland, United States of America (2008-2010).

References:

Bee Researchers:

Dr. Jeff Pettis, President of Apimondia. Former (Institute of Bee Health, University of Bern, Switzerland. Former Research Leader at the Bee Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland, USA) [email protected]

Dr. Jamie Ellis (Professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology, the University of Florida in the Gainesville, United States of America)

Dr. Olav Rueppell, (Professor, Department of Biology, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, United States of America) [email protected]

Dr. Jay Evans, (Research Leader, Bee Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland, USA) [email protected]

Dr. Francesco Pennacchio (Dipartimento di Entomologia e Zoologia Agraria Universita di Napoli Via Universita 10080055 Portici Italy). [email protected]

Beekeepers:

Mr. Mario Jakob (Beekeeper) Head beekeeper at D&J Apiaries

17732 SE 28 3rd Ave. Umatilla FL, 32784  phone: 352-669-4233 [email protected]

Mr. Randy Oliver (Beekeeper)

14744 Meadow Dr. Grass Valey, CA. [email protected] http://www.scientificbeekeeping.com/

Mr. Jeremy Ham, Fruitwood Apiaries ([email protected])

Mr. Andy Miksa - Andy Miksa Honey Farm LLC - ([email protected])

EDUCATION:

Biological Sciences.

Universidade Estadual Paulista “Julio de Mesquita Filho” (UNESP) Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil, 1999

Molecular and Cellular Biology M.Sc.  (Virology Emphasis)

Thesis: Molecular cloning and expression of Coxsackievirus B5 VP1 capsid protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo

(USP), São Paulo, Brazil, 2002.

Molecular and Cellular Biology Ph.D. (Virology Emphasis)

Thesis: Immunization with coxsackievirus B5 recombinant VP1 protein confers tissue damage protection in the pancreas of C3H-HeJ mice experimentally infected.

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo

(USP), SP, Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil, 2007.

SCHOLARSHIPS:

1.   M.Sc. Scholarship, Research Foundation of the State of São Paulo (FAPESP), Brazil. June 2000- June 2002. Grant No. 00/03520-5. (Full scholarship)

2.   Ph.D. Scholarship, Research Foundation of the State of São Paulo (FAPESP), Brazil. June 2003-

June 2007. Grant No. 03/00583-4. (Full Scholarship)

FELLOWSHIPS/AWARDS/GRANTS (awarded):

Co-Investigator. Identification and molecular characterization of new honey bee pathogens and pests. PAM  (Project Apis Mellifera) http://projectapism.org.  $43,000.00

Altmetric Top 10 Articles 2016

As a co-author: "Varroa destructor is an effective vector of Israeli acute paralysis virus in the honeybee, Apis mellifera. Published in Journal of General Virology

http://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/2016_Altmetrics

Co-Investigator. Identify putative causes of unidentified disease conditions in honey bee colonies  (APHIS). Period of performance May 2016 through May 2017 $47,000

Co-Investigator. Healthy Bees LLC has a cooperative agreement with the University of Maryland. Project Title "Effect of supplementary diet (BeesVita Plus©) on honey bee's ability to fight infection and detoxify toxins." Period of performance: April 2015 through April 2016. Cost: $33,677

Co-Investigator. Healthy Bees LLC has a cooperative agreement with the University of Maryland. Project Title "Whole-genome transcriptome analysis of honey bee fat bodies under different nutritional conditions." Period of performance: April 2015 through April 2016. Cost: $19,268

The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign. "Identification of IAPV Targets in the

Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)". Cost: 20,000

http://biology.uncg.edu/pages/Rueppell_grant_2013.html

NRC Research Associates Programs (RAP), National Academies of Science, approved grant. Project title: "Evaluation of Microsporidia inhibitor compounds against Nosema ceranae, in vitro, replicated", May 2011. Grant No. A1110340. Cost: $130,000

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Headquarters Postdoctoral Fellowship USDA (2008-2011). Cost: $195,000

3rd Prize winner for poster: "Development and Validation of a Novel Strand-Specific RT-PCR for analysis of Honeybee Virus Replication" at 20th Annual BARC Poster Day 2009, USDA.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=18442

São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), 2003-2007, Project. "Immunization with coxsackievirus B5 recombinant VP1 protein confers tissue damage protection in the pancreas of C3H-HeJ mice experimentally infected". Cost: $200,000 Grant No. 03/00583-4

São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), 2000-2002, Project. "Molecular cloning and expression of Coxsackievirus B5 VP1 capsid protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae". Cost: $40,000 Grant No. 00/03520-5

 

 

PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATIONS:

1.   Nitzan Paldi; Humberto Boncristiani; Eyal Maori; Alon Wellner; Shaul Ilan, COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR REDUCING PATHOGEN-INDUCED CITRUS GREENING. Provisional Patent Application to be filed in the USA and identified as Attorney Docket No. 58484.

2.   Nitzan Paldi; Humberto Boncristiani; Eyal Maori; Avital Weiss; Emerson Bernardes. COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF USING SAME FOR REDUCING RESISTANCE TO MOSQUITO LARVICIDES. US Provisional Patent Application No. 61/988,237.

3.   Nitzan Paldi; Humberto Boncristiani; Eyal Maori; Avital Weiss; Emerson Bernardes COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF USING SAME FOR INCREASING RESISTANCE OF INFECTED MOSQUITOES. US Provisional Patent Application No. 61/988,235.

4.   Nitzan Paldi; Humberto Boncristiani; Eyal Maori; Avital Weiss; Emerson Bernardes. COMPOSITIONS FOR MOSQUITO CONTROL AND USES OF SAME, Provisional Patent Application to be filed in the USA, and identified as Attorney Docket No. 58488.

5.   Nitzan Paldi; Humberto Boncristiani; Eyal Maori; Avital Weiss; Emerson Bernardes COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS OF USING SAME FOR CONTROLLING PATHOGENICALLY INFECTED MOSQUITOES. US Provisional Patent Application No.61/988,246

PUBLICATIONS:

Book Chapters:

1.   Boncristiani, H.F.; Criado, M.F. & Arruda, E. “Respiratory viruses” In: Lederberg J (Ed).

Encyclopedia of Microbiology. Academic Press, New York. 2009.

Published Articles:

  • Boardman,  L., Marcelino,  J.A.P., Valentin,  R.E., Boncristiani,  H., Standley,  J. M., & Ellis,  J. D. (2024). Novel eDNA approaches to monitor Western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) microbial and arthropod communities. Environmental DNA, 6,e419. https://doi.org/10.1002/edn3.419
  • Kaitlin R. Deutsch, Jason R. Graham, Humberto F. Boncristiani, Tomas Bustamante, Ashley N. Mortensen, Daniel R. Schmehl, Ashlyn E. Wedde, Dawn L. Lopez, Jay D. Evans, James D. Ellis,
    Widespread distribution of honey bee-associated pathogens in native bees and wasps: Trends in pathogen prevalence and co-occurrence,
    Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, Volume 200, 2023, 107973, ISSN 0022-2011, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2023.107973.
  • Humberto Boncristiani, James D. Ellis, Tomas Bustamante, Jason Graham, Cameron Jack, Chase B. Kimmel, Ashley Mortensen &Daniel R. Schmehl. World Honey Bee Health: The Global Distribution of Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Pests and Pathogens. Bee World: https://doi.org/10.1080/0005772X.2020.1800330

  • Hongmei Li-Byarlay1*†, Humberto Boncristiani, Gary Howell, Jake Herman, Lindsay Clark, Micheline K. Strand, David Tarpy, and Olav Rueppell Transcriptomic and Epigenomic Dynamics of Honey Bees in Response to Lethal Viral Infection. Front. Genet., 24 September 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.566320

  • Samantha A. Alger, P. Alexander Burnham, Humberto F. Boncristiani, Alison K. Brody RNA virus spillover from managed honeybees (Apis mellifera) to wild bumblebees (Bombus spp.), PlosOne  June 26, 2019  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217822

  • E. Maori Isabela Cunha Navarro, Humberto Boncristiani, Jay Evans, Jonathan Luke Heeney, Eric Alexander Miska. 'A secreted RNA binding protein forms RNA-stabilizing granules in the honeybee royal jelly.' Molecular Cell; 18 April 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2019.03.010.

  • Sarah Michaud, Humberto F. Boncristiani Jr., Joost W. Gouw, Micheline K. Strand, Jeffrey Pettis, Olav Rueppell, Leonard J. Foster. Response of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) proteome to Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) infection. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 10.1139/cjz-2014-0181.

  • Chen YP, Pettis JS, Corona M, Chen WP, Li CJ, Spivak M, Visscher PK, DeGrandi-Hoffman G, Boncristiani H, Zhao Y, vanEngelsdorp D, Delaplane K, Solter L, Drummond F, Kramer M, Lipkin WI, Palacios G, Hamilton MC, Smith B, Huang SK, Zheng HQ, Li JL, Zhang X, Zhou AF, Wu LY, Zhou JZ, Lee ML, Teixeira EW, Li ZG, Evans JD.  Israeli acute paralysis virus: epidemiology, pathogenesis and implications for honey bee health. PLoS Pathog. 2014 Jul 31;10(7):e1004261. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1004261.  eCollection 2014 Jul.

  •  Li JL, Cornman RS, Evans JD, Pettis JS, Zhao Y, Murphy C, Peng WJ, Wu J, Hamilton M, Boncristiani HF Jr, Zhou L, Hammond J, Chen YP. Reply to "conclusive evidence of replication of a plant virus in honeybees is lacking". MBio. 2014  May 27;5(3):e01250-14. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01250-14.

  • Kuster RD, Boncristiani HF, Rueppell O.  Immunogene and viral transcript dynamics during parasitic Varroa destructor mite infection of developing honey bee (Apis mellifera) pupae. J Exp Biol.  2014 May 15;217(Pt 10):1710-8. doi: 10.1242/jeb.097766.

  • Li JL, Cornman RS, Evans JD, Pettis JS, Zhao Y, Murphy C, Peng WJ, Wu J, Hamilton M, Boncristiani HF Jr, Zhou L, Hammond J, Chen YP. Systemic spread and propagation of a plant-pathogenic virus in European honeybees, Apis mellifera. MBio. 2014  Jan 21;5(1):e00898- 13. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00898-13.

  • Boncristiani HF, Evans JD, Chen Y, Pettis J, Murphy C, Lopez DL, Simone-Finstrom M, Strand M, Tarpy DR, Rueppell O.  In vitro infection of pupae with Israeli acute paralysis virus suggests disturbance of transcriptional homeostasis in honey bees (Apis mellifera). PLoS One. 2013 Sep 5;8(9):e73429. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0073429. eCollection 2013.

  • Wagoner KM, Boncristiani HF, Rueppell O. Multifaceted responses to two major parasites in the honey bee (Apis mellifera). BMC Ecol. 2013 Jul 17;13:26. doi: 10.1186/1472-6785-13-26.

  • Cornman RS, Boncristiani H, Dainat B, Chen Y, vanEngelsdorp D, Weaver D, Evans JD. Population-genomic variation within RNA viruses of the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera, inferred from deep sequencing. BMC Genomics. 2013 Mar 7;14:154. doi: 10.1186/1471-2164- 14-154.

  • Teixeira, E.W.1, Chen, Y.2, Message, D.3, Boncristiani, H.F.4, Pettis, J. 2, Evans, J.D. "Israeli acute paralysis virus in Africanized honey bees in southeastern Brazilian Apiaries". Journal of Economic Entomology (2012),51(3) 282–284. doi:10.3896/IBRA.1.51.3.11.

  • Boncristiani, H, Robyn Underwood, Ryan Schwarz, Jay Evans, Jeffery Pettis, Dennis vanEngelsdorp. Direct effect of acaricides on pathogen loads and gene expression levels of honey bee Apis mellifera.  Journal of Insect Physiology. (2011) 58(5):613-20.

  • Peng, W., Li, J., Boncristiani, H., Strange, J. P., Hamilton, M., & Chen, Y. (2011). Host range expansion of honey bee Black Queen Cell Virus in the bumble bee, Bombus huntii. Apidologie, 42(5), 650–658. doi:10.1007/s13592-011-0061-5.

  • Li, J., Peng, W., Wu, J., Strange, J. P., Boncristiani, H., & Chen, Y. (2011). Cross-Species Infection of Deformed Wing Virus Poses a New Threat to Pollinator Conservation.  Journal of Economic Entomology, 104(3), 732–739. doi:10.1603/EC10355.

  • Boncristiani, H., Li, J., Evans, J. D., Pettis, J., & Chen, Y. (2011). Scientific note on PCR inhibitors in the compound eyes of honey bees, Apis mellifera. Apidologie,  42(4), 457–460. doi:10.1007/s13592-011-0009-9.

  • Di Prisco, G., Pennacchio, F., Caprio, E., Boncristiani, H. F., Evans, J. D., & Chen, Y. (2011). Varroa destructor is an effective vector of Israeli acute paralysis virus in the honeybee, Apis mellifera, Journal of General Virology, 92(Pt 1), 151–155. doi:10.1099/vir.0.023853-0. Altimetric top 10 in 2016. http://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/2016_Altmetrics

  • Boncristiani, H.F. Rossi, R.D., Criado, M.F. Furtado, F.M. & Arruda, E. Magnetic purification of biotinylated cDNA removes false priming and ensures strand-specificity of RT-PCR for enteroviral RNAs. Journal of Virological Methods. 2009 vol. 161 (1) pp. 147-53.

  • Yanping Chen, Jay D Evans, Liang Zhou, Humberto Boncristiani, Kiyoshi Kimura, Tieguang Xiao, A M Litkowski, Jeffery S Pettis. Asymmetrical coexistence of Nosema ceranae and Nosema apis in honey bees. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. 2009 vol. 101 (3) pp. 204-9.

  • Boncristiani H.F., Di Prisco G., Pettis J., Hamilton M., Chen Y. Molecular approaches to the analysis of deformed wing virus replication and pathogenesis in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Virol J  (2009) vol. 6 pp. 221.

  • Jay D. Evans, Humberto Boncristiani, Yanping Chen. Scientific note on mass collection and hatching of honey bee embryos. Apidologie, 2009.

  • Boncristiani, H. F., & Arruda, E. (2003). Molecular cloning and expression of recombinant VP1 of coxsackievirus B5. Medicina (Ribeirao Preto), 36(1), 55–56. Ribeirão Preto. Retrieved from <Go to ISI>://BIOABS:BACD200500106094.

 

AFFILIATIONS/MEMBERSHIPS:

1.   American Society for Virology

2.   Brazilian Society of Virology

3.   American Beekeeping Federations

4- American Honey Producers Association

5- American Association of Professional Apiculturists

EDITORIAL REVIEWER:

•  PNAS

•  PlosOne

•  Journal of insect physiology

•  Apidologie

•  Journal of Virological Methods

•  Genetics and Molecular Research Journal

•  Biology Letters