5 people doing research in a lab

Research

Center for Infectious, Zoonotic, and Vector-borne Diseases

The mission of the Center for Infectious, Zoonotic, and Vector-borne Diseases (CIZVD) is to protect and promote the health of animals and humans by conducting interdisciplinary research, training the next generation of scientists, and fostering collaborations that advance the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, and control of infectious, zoonotic, and vector-borne diseases.

Strategic Goals:

  • Advance Research Excellence - Conduct innovative, interdisciplinary studies on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and control of infectious, zoonotic, and vector-borne diseases.
  • Enhance Disease Surveillance and Diagnostics - Develop and validate rapid, accurate tools for early detection and monitoring of high-impact pathogens.
  • Promote One Health Collaboration - Strengthen partnerships across veterinary, dental, medical, public health, and environmental sectors to address health threats at the human-animal-environment interface.
  • Innovate Prevention and Treatment Strategies - Drive the development of novel vaccines, therapeutics, and vector control measures.
  • Build Research Capacity and Education - Provide training, mentorship, and resources to cultivate skilled scientists and informed stakeholders worldwide.

 

Past and Current Projects:

Surveillance of Arthropod-Borne Infections: Studying the ecology of significant vector-borne diseases and mapping the distribution of arthropod vectors essential for disease transmission; investigating resistance to canine heartworm therapy.

Spirochete Research: Advancing the understanding of leptospirosis pathogenesis, ecology, and diagnostics; projects include identifying non-mammalian reservoirs, analyzing molecular interactions between Leptospira virulence factors and host components, and developing improved diagnostic tools.

Shelter Animal Health: Addressing health challenges in shelter populations, including SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in dogs and cats, multidrug-resistant pathogens in feces, antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus spp., respiratory disease pathogens in dogs, and long-term studies on leptospiral carriage.

Novel Lipid Biomarkers of Animal Diseases: Utilizing the LMU-CVM lipidomics lab to identify lipid-based markers for infectious diseases such as paratuberculosis, Rhodococcus equi infections in horses, leptospirosis, and infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK); developing lipid-based pathogen identification methods.

Viral Pathogenesis Research: Applying molecular methods to study disease progression and investigating the role of zinc-finger proteins in viral pathogenesis.

Understanding Vaccine Failure in IBK: Investigating persistent ocular infections in cattle using a multidisciplinary approach (microbiological, molecular, genetic, and lipidomic) in collaboration with the University of Kentucky to identify causes of vaccine failure.

Infectious Diseases of Sheep: Exploring emerging ovine health concerns through seroprevalence studies of Cache Valley Virus and leptospirosis in sheep populations in South-Central Appalachia.

 

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