LTC Jeremy Hershfield Photo

LTC Jeremy Hershfield

Assistant Professor

jeremy.hershfield@westpoint.edu

Biography

LTC Jeremy Hershfield, Ph.D., is in his second rotational assignment as an Assistant Professor within the Department of Chemistry and Life Science. In addition to teaching General Chemistry and Biochemistry, he serves as the head Departmental Academic Counselor. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor within the Molecular & Cell Biology program at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS).

After commissioning from Cornell Army ROTC, LTC Hershfield earned his doctorate in Molecular & Cell Biology at USUHS. As a 71B Biochemist in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps, LTC Hershfield’s military experience includes public health analytical chemistry and previous teaching at West Point, as well as leadership and collaborative research and management roles within DoD hospitals, funding agencies, and U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) research laboratories.

LTC Hershfield is a Science and Technology Manager (S&TM) Defense Acquisition University (DAU)-certified acquisition professional. He has earned U.S. Army additional skill identifiers in the areas of 6z (Strategic Studies) and 8x (Army Medical Department Acquisition).

Ongoing Research Projects

In collaboration with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, LTC Hershfield is the PI for “Screening for Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies Against Powassan Virus.” Powassan virus (POWV) is a tick-disseminated flavivirus that causes severe encephalitis, meningitis, and long-term neurological damage. Although POWV infections are relatively rare, the virus is widely distributed among common vectors such as Ixodes scapularis (the deer tick), which also carries the bacteria that cause Lyme Disease, and the number of reported cases in the U.S. is rising each year. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for POWV infection. In this project, LTC Hershfield’s research group surveys serum repository samples to determine the overall level of POWV seropositivity among previous USMA cadets. Future efforts will include a clinical study to actively assess seropositivity rates among cadets and isolate and evaluate antibodies as potential therapeutic options for treating POWV infections.

LTC Hershfield is also PI on a DTRA-funded bioprinting research project, “Understanding Performance Characteristics of Novel 3D-Bioprinted Bandages.” Primary battlefield injuries involve blood loss, infection, or loss of tissue viability and typically require hemostatic dressing and tourniquets to facilitate patient movement to subsequent care. 3D bioprinting is an emerging technology that can enhance and expand bioactive bandage capabilities through precise, repeatable positioning and dispensing of cells and other biomolecules in a three-dimensional layering. Exosomes are a low-cost, readily available subset of extracellular vesicles, which are promising therapeutic options for wound healing via encapsulated immune-enhancing molecules. In this effort, cadets 3D-print hydrogels, embed them with fluorescently tagged exosomes and/or cells (such as Histone H2B-GFP expressing HeLa Cells), and evaluate their release properties and mechanical characteristics to simulate wound therapeutic applications. 

Publications & Presentations

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Melanson VR, Hershfield JR*, Deegan MK, Cho H, Perinon D, Bateman SL, Barnhill JC. Artificial Blood Development Implications for Military Medicine. J Spec Oper Med. 2023 Jun 23:OVOP-V2QC.

Jakielaszek C, Hilliard JJ, Mannino F, Hossain M, Qian L, Fishman C, Chou YL, Henning L, Novak J, Demons S, Hershfield JR, O'Dwyer K. Efficacy of Intravenously Administered Gepotidacin in Cynomolgus Macaques following a Francisella tularensis Inhalational Challenge. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2023 May 17;67(5):e0138122. 

Jakielaszek C, Hossain M, Qian L, Fishman C, Widdowson K, Hilliard JJ, Mannino F, Raychaudhuri A, Carniel E, Demons S, Heine HS, Hershfield JR, Russo R, Mega WM, Revelli D, O'Dwyer K. Gepotidacin is efficacious in a nonhuman primate model of pneumonic plague. Sci Transl Med. 2022, Jun;14(647): eabg1787.

Hummel SF, Burpo FJ, Hershfield JR, Kick, A, O’Donovan KJ, Barnhill J. A New Age of Bioterror: Anticipating Exploitation of Tunable Viral Agents. Combatting Terrorism Center Sentinel Journal. 2022, Apr 27; 15(4): 1-6.

Steenbergen J, Tanaka SK, Miller LL, Halasohoris SA, Hershfield JR. In Vitro and In Vivo Activity of Omadacycline against Two Biothreat Pathogens, Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2017, Apr 24; 61(5): e02434-16.

Hershfield JR, Wilmoski CR, Meister KC. Before the Next Outbreak: Prepare for Everything Together. Interagency Journal. 2016, Dec 20; 7(3): 70-80.

Molohon KJ, Blair PM, Park S, Doroghazi JR, Maxson T, Hershfield JR, Flat KM, Schroeder NE, Ha T, Mitchell DA. Plantazolicin is an Ultranarrow-Spectrum Antibiotic that Targets the Bacillus anthracis Membrane. ACS Infectious Diseases. 2016, Mar 10; 2(3): 207-220.

Steed DB, Liu J, Wasbrough E, Miller L, Halasohoris S, Miller J, Somerville B, Hershfield JR, Romesberg FE. Origins of Y. pestis Sensitivity to the Arylomycin Antibiotics and the Inhibition of Type I Signal Peptidase. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2015, Jul; 59(7): 3887-98.

Hurley KA, Heinrich VA, Hershfield JR, Demons ST, Weibel DB. Membrane-Targeting DCAP Analogues with Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Activity against Pathogenic Bacteria. ACS Med Chem Lett. 2015, Mar 1; 6(4): 466-71.

Heine HS, Hershfield JR, Marchand C, Miller L, Halasohoris S, Purcell BK, Worsham PL. In Vitro Antibiotic Susceptibilities of Yersinia pestis by Broth Micro-Dilution Following CLSI Methods. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2015, Apr; 59(4): 1919-21.

Hu X, Compton JR, Abdulhameed MD, Marchand CL, Robertson KL, Leary DH, Jadhav A, Hershfield JR, Wallqvist A, Friedlander AM, Legler PM. 3- substituted indole inhibitors against Francisella tularensis FabI identified by structure-based virtual screening. J Med Chem 2013, 56(13): 5275-87.

Hershfield JR, Pattabiraman N, Madhavarao CN, Namboodiri MA. Mutational analysis of aspartoacylase: implications for Canavan Disease. Brain Research 2007, May 7; 1148:1-14.

Hershfield JR, Madhavarao CN, Moffett JR, Benjamins J, Garbern J, Namboodiri MA. Aspartoacylase is a regulated nuclear-cytoplasmic enzyme. FASEB J 2006, Oct; 20(12): 2139-41.

Namboodiri AM, Moffett JR, Arun P, Matthew R, Namboodiri S, Potti A, Hershfield JR, Kirmani B, Jacobowitz DM, Madhavarao CN. Defective myelin lipid synthesis as a pathogenic mechanism of Canavan disease”. Adv Exp Med Biol 2006, 576: 145-63.

Namboodiri AM, Arun P, Mathew R, Sambhu PA, Hershfield JR, Moffett JR, Madhavarao CN. Canavan disease and the role of N-acetylaspartate in myelin synthesis. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2006, Jun 27; 252(1-2): 216-23.

Arun P, Madhavarao CN, Hershfield JR, Moffett JR, Namboodiri MA. SH- SY5Y neuroblastoma cells: a model system for studying biosynthesis of NAAG. Neuroreport 2006, May 19; 15(7): 1167-70.

Abstracts & Peer-Reviewed Conference Proceedings

Weiss T, Meany J, Barnhill J, Hershfield JR, Washington M, Kovacs C. “Preliminary Investigations into Phage-Antibiotic Combinations for Defeating Multiple Drug Resistant Bacteria.” American Society for Microbiology Biothreats. Arlington, VA, January 2019. (Poster)

Volenec S, Isham J, Zhu P, Weiss T, Bowling G, Cho H, Hershfield JR, Eslinger M. “Developing a Novel Biofilm Assay for Representative Surfaces: Assessment and Quantification of Biofilm Formation by Acinetobacter baumannii.” 8th American Society for Microbiology Conference on Biofilms. Washington, DC, October 2018. (Poster)

Hershfield JR, Marchand CL, Miller LL, Halasohoris SA, Dankmeyer JL, Rozak DA, Purcell BK, Amemiya K. “The Effect of Triclosan on Select CDC Category A or B Agents.” American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting. Baltimore, MD, February 2018. (Poster)

Heine HS, Chuvala L, Riggins R, Gwynn M, Jakielaszek C, Widdowson K, Miller L, Halasohoris SA, Hershfield JR, Feuerstein GZ. “In vitro activity and Efficacy in a Murine-Aerosol Challenge Model of a Novel Antibacterial GSK2140944 against Yersinia pestis (YP)”. American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting. Washington, DC, January 2014. (Poster)

Marchand CL, Miller L, Halasohoris SA, Hershfield JR, Serio AW, Cirz RT, Heine HS. “In vitro Activity of ACHN-975 against Biodefense Pathogens”. Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Denver, CO, September 2013. (Poster)

Hershfield JR, Miller L, Halasohoris, SA, Page MGP. “In vitro Activity of BAL30072 against Biodefense Pathogens”. Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Denver, CO, September 2013. (Poster)

Marchand CL, Miller L, Halasohoris SA, Hershfield JR, Everson MP, Duncanson FP. “Intraperitoneally Administered E5564 Enhances Antibiotic Efficacy in a Murine Model of Inhalational Anthrax”.  Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Denver, CO, September 2013. (Poster)

Hershfield JR, Miller L, Halasohoris S, Miller J, Schmadel H, Poinsette J, Wasbrough E, Leggio M, Devito J, Kanzo Z, Duffy E. “Optimization of Novel RX-04 Compounds against Biodefense Pathogens”. Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Denver, CO, September 2013. (Poster)

Draper M, Miller L, Halasohoris S, Kim O, Hershfield JR. “In Vitro Activity of Omadacycline (OMC) against Biothreat Bacteria”. American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting. Washington, DC, February 2013. (Poster)

Hershfield JR, Howlett A, Schweizer H, Gooldy M, Podnecky N, Miller L, Halasohoris S, Sutcliffe J. “Eravacycline (TP-434) is Potent against Category A and B Pathogens”. American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting. Washington, DC, February 2013. (Poster)

Lomovskaya O, Miller L, Halasohoris S, Hershfield JR. “Antibacterial Activity of Biapenem/RPX7009 against Biodefense Pathogens”. American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting. Washington, DC, February 2013. (Poster)  

Marchand CL, Miller L, Halasohoris S, Hershfield JR, Everson MP, Duncanson FP. “E5564 Enhances Prophylactic Antibiotic Efficacy in a Murine Model of Inhalational Anthrax”. American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting. Washington, DC, February 2013. (Poster)  

Hershfield JR, Miller L, Halasohoris S, Remy J, Leggio M, Devito J, Bhattacharjee A, Marra A, Kanyo Z, Duffy E. “Antibacterial Activity of Novel RX-04 Compounds against Biodefense Pathogens”. Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. San Francisco, CA, September 2012. (Poster)