Advances in Immunology and Microbiology Seminar Series: Dr. Aspen Workman

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.

PRESENTER: Aspen Workman, USDA-ARS US Meat Animal Research Center: Clay Center, Nebraska

TITLE: First Gene-Edited Calf with Reduced Genetic Susceptibility to Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus

You can read more about her research here: Scientists Use Gene Editing Technology to Produce First Calf Resistant to Major Viral Disease.

ABSTRACT: Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is one of the most important viruses causing respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases and reproductive failure in cattle throughout the world.  To address this challenge, our research group utilized CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology to make a small, precise modification in the cellular receptor for BVDV. Our findings demonstrate a significant reduction in viral susceptibility in a gene-edited calf without causing any apparent adverse health effects. This work provides the first example of gene-editing in cattle to reduce the impact of a major viral disease.