Chemistry & Biochemistry

Curriculum Vitae

• B.S., McGill University, 2009
• Ph.D., McGill University, 2013
• Postdoctoral Researcher, U.C. San Francisco, 2013-2014
• Postdoctoral Researcher, U.C. San Diego, 2014-2017
• Assistant and Associate Professor, University of Oklahoma, 2017-2023
• Associate Professor, San Diego State University, 2023-present

Research Interests

The McCall laboratory uses cutting-edge analytical chemistry instrumentation to answer critical biological questions. Our main approach implements state-of-the-art ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). High-resolution MS/MS data is then analyzed using big data computational tools and novel metabolomics techniques such as molecular networking and fragmentation trees. We are particularly interested in understanding how small molecule spatial distribution relates to function, by integrating 3D modeling with our mass spectrometry data, an approach called “chemical cartography”. Alterations in chemical signaling and metabolism play key roles in disease progression and susceptibility. Small molecules also mediate the function of the microbiome, and human interactions with the environment. Our unique chemical cartography approach enables us to understand metabolism in its spatial context, providing us with novel insights into human physiology, host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions, microbiome function, and human behavior. We also pursue translational applications of our work, using insights from our metabolomics datasets to create new diagnostic tests and to identify new targets for drug development. We are actively recruiting new students interested in analytical chemistry methods, biochemistry, and cross-disciplinary research in a dynamic and diverse work environment.

Recent Publications

1. "Kavouris JA, McCall LI, Giardini MA, De Muylder G, Thomas D, Garcia-Pérez A, Cantizani J, Cotillo I, Fiandor JM, McKerrow JH, De Oliveira CI, Siqueira-Neto JL, González S, Brown LE, Schaus SE.,"
   Discovery of pyrazolopyrrolidinones as potent, broad-spectrum inhibitors of Leishmania infection.,
   Front. Trop. Dis. 3 (2023). (doi: 10.3389/fitd.2022.1011124.)
2. "Haffner JJ, Katemauswa M, Kagone TS, Hossain E, Jacobson D, Flores K, Parab AR, Obregon-Tito AJ, Tito RY, Reyes LM, Troncoso-Corzo L, Guija-Poma E, Meda N, Carabin H, Honap TP, Sankaranarayanan K, Lewis CM Jr, McCall LI.,"
   Untargeted Fecal Metabolomic Analyses across an Industrialization Gradient Reveal Shared Metabolites and Impact of Industrialization on Fecal Microbiome-Metabolome Interactions.,
   mSystems 7, e0071022 (2022). (doi: 10.1128/msystems.00710-22.)
3. "Ali A, Davidson S, Fraenkel E, Gilmore I, Hankemeier T, Kirwan JA, Lane AN, Lanekoff I, Larion M, McCall LI, Murphy M, Sweedler JV, Zhu C.,"
   Single cell metabolism: current and future trends.,
   Metabolomics 18, 77 (2022). (doi: 10.1007/s11306-022-01934-3.)
4. "Dean DA, Klechka L, Hossain E, Parab AR, Eaton K, Hinsdale M, McCall LI.,"
   Spatial Metabolomics Reveals Localized Impact of Influenza Virus Infection on the Lung Tissue Metabolome.,
   mSystems 7, e0035322 (2022). (doi: 10.1128/msystems.00353-22.)
5. "Lesani M, Gosmanov C, Paun A, Lewis MD, McCall LI.,"
   Impact of Visceral Leishmaniasis on Local Organ Metabolism in Hamsters.,
   Metabolites 12 (2022). (doi: 10.3390/metabo12090802.)
6. "Nguyen TD, Lan Y, Kane SS, Haffner JJ, Liu R, McCall LI, Yang Z.,"
   Single-Cell Mass Spectrometry Enables Insight into Heterogeneity in Infectious Disease.,
   Anal. Chem. 94, 10567-10572 (2022). (doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c02279.)
7. "Katemauswa M, Hossain E, Liu Z, Lesani M, Parab AR, Dean DA, McCall LI.,"
   Enabling Quantitative Analysis of Surface Small Molecules for Exposomics and Behavioral Studies.,
   J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 33, 412-419 (2022). (doi: 10.1021/jasms.1c00263.)
8. "Junkins E, McWhirter J, McCall L, Stevenson B.,"
   Environmental structure impacts microbial composition and secondary metabolism.,
   ISME Communications 2, 15 (2022). (doi: 10.1038/s43705-022-00097-5.)
9. "Dean DA, Haffner JJ, Katemauswa M, McCall LI.,"
   Chemical Cartography Approaches to Study Trypanosomatid Infection.,
   J. Vis. Exp. (2022). (doi: 10.3791/63255.)
10. "Harris MB, Lesani M, Liu Z, McCall LI.,"
    Molecular networking in infectious disease models.,
    Methods Enzymol. 663, 341-375 (2022). (doi: 10.1016/bs.mie.2021.09.018.)
11. "Anderson VM, Wendt KL, Najar FZ, McCall LI, Cichewicz RH.,"
    Building Natural Product Libraries Using Quantitative Clade-Based and Chemical Clustering Strategies.,
    mSystems 6, e0064421 (2021). (doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00644-21.)
12. "Dean DA, Gautham G, Siqueira-Neto JL, McKerrow JH, Dorrestein PC, McCall LI.,"
    Spatial metabolomics identifies localized chemical changes in heart tissue during chronic cardiac Chagas Disease.,
    PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 15, e0009819 (2021). (doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009819.)
13. "Liu Z, Ulrich vonBargen R, McCall LI.,"
    Central role of metabolism in Trypanosoma cruzi tropism and Chagas disease pathogenesis.,
    Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 63, 204-209 (2021). (doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.07.015.)
14. "McCall LI.,"
    mSphere of Influence: Forgotten Questions.,
    mSphere 6, e0052021 (2021). (doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00520-21.)
15. "Hoffman K, Liu Z, Hossain E, Bottazzi ME, Hotez PJ, Jones KM, McCall LI.,"
    Alterations to the Cardiac Metabolome Induced by Chronic T. cruzi Infection Relate to the Degree of Cardiac Pathology.,
    ACS Infect. Dis. 7, 1638-1649 (2021). (doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00816.)
16. "Parab AR, Thomas D, Lostracco-Johnson S, Siqueira-Neto JL, McKerrow JH, Dorrestein PC, McCall LI.,"
    Dysregulation of Glycerophosphocholines in the Cutaneous Lesion Caused by Leishmania major in Experimental Murine Models.,
    Pathogens 10 (2021). (doi: 10.3390/pathogens10050593.)
17. "Parab AR, McCall LI.,"
    Tryp-ing Up Metabolism: Role of Metabolic Adaptations in Kinetoplastid Disease Pathogenesis.,
    Infect. Immun. 89 (2021). (doi: 10.1128/IAI.00644-20.)
18. "McCall LI.,"
    Quo vadis? Central Rules of Pathogen and Disease Tropism.,
    Front. Cell Infect. Microbiol. 11, 640987 (2021). (doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.640987.)