Infectious Diseases
Research Focus Area
Today, more than 70% of infectious diseases are zoonotic and have a significant impact on human and animal health worldwide.
From transmission mechanisms and host-pathogen interactions to risk analysis and epidemiology, we are working to help control and reduce the global burden of bacterial, viral and parasitic infectious diseases.
Faculty
Ongoing Projects
Unraveling the mechanisms of interaction underlying PRRSV’s immune-evasion strategies.
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COLLABORATORS:
- French National Institute for Agricultural Research | France
- Institute of Virology and Immunology | Switzerland
- Technical University of Denmark | Denmark
- University of Ghent | Belgium
PROJECT SUMMARY:
As part of an EU consortium, Elisa Crisci received a Marie Curie and AgreenSkills Fellowship to conduct a P.I.G. project, an innovative study that focused on the use of lung dendritic cells (DC) and macrophages (Mɸ) subpopulations infected with different PRRSV strains and functional genomics to study PRRSV-DC/Mɸ interactions.
This project was part of the ANIHWA KILLeuPRRSV project, the underlying aim of which is to unravel the mechanisms of interaction underlying PRRSV’s immune-evasion strategies.
Exposure heterogeneity and environmental transmission dynamics of Escherichia coli.
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Forecasting the spread of endemic viruses of swine in the United States.
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Development of novel CRISPR-based therapeutics for Clostridioides difficile infections.
Targeted restoration of colonization resistance against Clostridioides difficile in the GI tract.
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Prevalence of Borrelia species and Bartonella species in ixodid and other tick species from North America.
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PROJECT GOALS:
To determine the molecular prevalence of Borrelia and Bartonella species in Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus ticks from various regions of the United States.
FACT: Rapid detection and tracking of foodborne pathogens with long range amplicon sequencing.
INVESTIGATORS:
Elucidating the mechanisms of fecal microbiota transplants for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections.
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COLLABORATORS:
- NCTraCS-CMI, North Carolina | United States
Protecting kittens from infectious diarrhea using a commensal member of their intestinal microbiota.
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Examining the prevalence of Bartonella spp. infection in dogs within and between geographic locations.
Assessing biosecurity vulnerabilities to predict the risk of new PRRSV outbreaks.
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High-resolution dynamic risk mapping to guide timely disease interventions.
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Whole genome sequencing-based surveillance of bacterial pathogens isolated from food and from the environment.
INVESTIGATORS:
- Sid Thakur
- Paula Cray
- FDA
- NIH