Advances in Immunology and Microbiology Seminar Series
About the event
Featuring research in the areas of:
Epidemiology | Infectious Disease | Disease Ecology | Drug Discovery | Virology |
Global Health | Vector-Borne Disease | Pathology
The Advances in Immunology & Microbiology seminar series is a weekly forum that brings together scientists from diverse fields and disciplines across the College of Veterinary Medicine to discuss research advances in the broad areas of immunology, microbiology, infectious diseases, and global health. Seminars feature student speakers from the Immunology & Infectious Disease (IID) doctoral program, IID-affiliated postdoctoral researchers and faculty, intramural speakers from across the university, and extramural speakers.
INTRAMURAL TRAINEE DOUBLE-HEADER
Kevin Baird, PhD Candidate, Department of Veterinary Microbiology & Pathology, Washington State University – Advisor: Dr. Massaro Ueti
Targeting the Babesia bovis kinete stage for transmission blocking
Abstract: Bovine Babesiosis is a tick-borne disease causing severe economic losses in global cattle industries. The causative agent, Babesia bovis, has a complex lifecycle with multiple life stages allowing it to colonize both arthropod (tick) and mammalian (bovine) hosts. In the kinete stage, B. bovis invades tick ovaries in order to infect developing larvae. This is a vertical transmission process known as Transovarial Transmission and is critical for maintaining the parasite in wild tick populations. Our lab is currently investigating the possibility of targeting this vital kinete stage with bovine antibodies to reduce B. bovis transmission to the larvae and subsequent mammalian host. In this seminar, I will discuss recent developments on this project as we near its completion.
Popy Devnath, PhD Candidate, Department of Veterinary Microbiology & Pathology, Washington State University – Advisor: Dr. Kennan Oyen
My PhD research examines how temperature influences the cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, and its ability to transmit Babesia bovis, the causative agent of bovine babesiosis. This disease has major economic consequences for the cattle industry because it reduces productivity and can cause severe illness and death in infected animals. Because R. microplus spends part of its life cycle off the host, it is directly exposed to environmental temperatures that may affect both tick fitness and pathogen transmission. My project investigates how thermal stress affects tick survival, reproduction, egg hatching, larval survival, and transovarial transmission. I am also exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects, including stress responses such as heat shock proteins and antimicrobial peptides.”