Copy
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Website
Connect with CeZAP on Social Media
View this email in your browser
 
X.J. Meng named interim executive director of the
Fralin Life Sciences Institute

X.J. Meng, University Distinguished Professor at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and professor of internal medicine at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, has been named interim executive director for Fralin Life Sciences Institute, effective Dec. 6, 2021.  

Meng’s appointment follows the announcement that Matt Hulver, the current executive director and professor of human nutrition, foods, and exercise, has accepted the position as vice president for research at Arizona State University.


“It is an honor and privilege to be asked to lead the Fralin Life Sciences Institute during this important transition. I have been an affiliated faculty member of the institute since its inception,” said Meng. “My own research program and professional development as a faculty member have benefited tremendously through the support provided by the institute. I know firsthand how essential and important the work at the Fralin Life Sciences Institute is to Virginia Tech and the broader scientific community.” READ MORE>>

Kylene Kehn-Hall named CeZAP Associated Director

Kylene is a world-class scientist with numerous leadership experience. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanism of viral pathogenesis and developing antivirals for vector-borne and zoonotic diseases. She is well funded by NIH, DOD (DTRA, DARPA) and private sectors currently with multi-million dollars active research funding. Most importantly, Kylene is very passionate about CeZAP and its mission, and has been actively participating in various CeZAP activities. She serves on the CeZAP Advisory and Leadership Committee and she volunteered to teach (as the course leader) a 2-credit infectious disease course for the CeZAP’s IGEP in infectious disease graduate program. Kylene was the Director of Biosciences PhD graduate program at George Mason University, and she was also the Associate Director of the School of Systems Biology at GMU.
 

National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) in Combating Antimicrobial Resistance

Since the world’s first broadly effective antibiotic arrived in 1928, bacteria have been evolving new strategies to fight back against antibiotics. Current trends show that antibiotics are increasingly failing to prevent, treat, or cure bacterial infections. Some projections imply that by 2050, antibiotic resistance fatalities may outnumber those of cancer.

Virginia Tech researchers are using data-driven surveillance to learn more about the antibiotic resistant bacteria that are lurking in communities across Virginia and the world. The transdisciplinary team has been turning to the sewers to track a variety of existing and new pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, with the goal of giving early warnings of outbreaks that are on the way to a community.

“Antibiotic resistance monitoring of sewage and water samples can help us figure out which communities have a problem and the immediate things that scientists and doctors can do to effectively combat antibiotic resistance,” said Amy Pruden, University Distinguished Professor in civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering. “This method can also give us insights into why certain communities have higher cases of antibiotic resistance.”

Pruden and a group of Virginia Tech researchers were recently awarded a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship grant called "Convergence at the Interfaces of Policy, Data Science, and Environmental Science and Engineering to Combat the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance.” READ MORE>>

New NSF-funded research explores origins of blood feeding in mosquitoes

An interdisciplinary team of Virginia Tech researchers is seeking to understand the physiological and biomechanical characteristics of blood feeding in mosquitoes and their evolutionary transition from sugar to blood feeding — knowledge that may help future work to stop disease transmission.

“Mosquitoes are the deadliest animals on the planet due to the pathogens they transmit to humans and other animals,” said Chloé Lahondère, an assistant professor of biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and an affiliate faculty member of the Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens in the Fralin Life Sciences Institute.

“Female mosquitoes transmit pathogens while biting a host,” she continued. "Females can also feed on plants, so food sources include blood, nectar, and plant fluids, which differ widely in viscosity and temperature. One of the key objectives of our project is to understand the specific adaptations that allow certain species of female mosquitoes to feed on such a wide range of fluids.”  READ MORE>>

Virginia Tech researchers discover a unique bacterial property, potential target for treating and diagnosing Lyme disease

Virginia Tech researchers discovered that the bacterium that causes Lyme disease has a highly unusual modification in its protective molecular bag – its peptidoglycan, which is common to all bacteria.

The change in this bacterium is unprecedented – it’s an unusual sugar modification that is not known to occur in any organism. One way the bacterium gets this sugar modification is from ticks by absorbing a carbohydrate unique to ticks. The alteration is specific to ticks and allows the bacterium to better move and be more likely to cause disease.

“We believe this change is critical to how the bacterium causes disease and is something that we can exploit for both therapeutic and diagnostic purposes,” said Brandon Jutras, an assistant professor of Biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and an affiliated faculty of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute and the Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-Borne Pathogens.

The findings were recently published in Nature Microbiology, which is produced by Nature Portfolio, and the research is the result of four years of work on ticks and Lyme disease, for which Jutras has been widely lauded. READ MORE>>

 Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series in Infectious Disease
Fall 2021 Seminar Schedule
Tuesdays at 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Zoom:
 https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/89419666443
Recorded seminars are available for viewing on our website HERE

August 31,  2021:
Dr. Kishana Taylor, Rutgers Univ, co-founder and president of the Black Microbiologists Association
"Centering Equity in Infectious Disease Research"

September 7 , 2021:
Dr. Gerry Wright, Distinguished University Professor at McMaster University and the Michael G. DeGroote Chair in Infection and Anti-Infective Research
"Mining biosynthetic pathways for new antibiotics"

September 14, 2021:
Dr. Kim Orth, W.W. Caruth, Jr. Scholar in Biomedical Research and the Earl A. Forsythe Chair in Biomedical Science at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
"How Vibrio parahaemolyticus invades and escapes from host cells"

September 21 , 2021:
Dr. James Van Etten, Member of the National Academy of Sciences and the William Allington Distinguished Professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Nebraska
"Adventures with Giant Algal Viruses"

September 28,  2021:
Dr. Carrie Harwood, Member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Gerald and Lyn Gristein Professor of Microbiology at the University of Washington
"Bacterial longevity"

October 5,  2021:
Dr. Paul D. Roepe, Co-Director of Georgetown University's Center for Infectious Disease
"Using Chemistry to Understand Antimalarial Drug Resistance"

October 12, 2021:
Dr. Rodrigo Almedia, UC Berkeley Hildebrand-Maumeister Chair in Plant Pathology
"Plant disease epidemics as opportunities to evaluate and gain knowledge"

October 19,  2021:
Dr. Sonia Hernandez, Professor of Wildlife Disease and Wildlife at the University of Georgia
"Why Care about Urban Wildlife Health?"

October 26, 2021:
Dr. Shawn Chen, Professor at the Biodesign Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy at Arizona State University

November 2, 2021:
Dr. Juergen Richt, Regents Distinguished Professor of Diagnostic Medicine Pathobiology at Kansas State University
"Adventures in COVID-19 Research"

November 9, 2021:
Dr. Scott Weaver, John Sealy Distinguished University Chair in Human Infections and Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch
"Mechanisms of Urban Arbovirus Emergence" 

December 7, 2021:
Dr. Latania Logan, Chief of the Section of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics at the Rush University Hospital
"A Rolling Plasmid Makes a Mess:  Antibiotic Resistance and Its Impact on Children"

COVID-19 Outreach Activities by CeZAP Affiliated Faculty Linsey Marr
COVID-19 Publications by CeZAP Affiliated Faculty
SARS-CoV-2 indoor air transmission is a threat that can be addressed with science Samet J, Burke T, Lakdawala S, Lowe J, Marr LC, Prather K, Shelton-Davenport M, Volckens J. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2116155118

Reduction of Infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 by Zinc Oxide Coatings Hosseini M, Behzadinasab S, Chin A, Poon L, Ducker WA.  ACS Biomater SCI Eng
 
DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c01076
Infectious SARS-CoV-2 is Emitted in Aerosol Particles Hawks S, Prussin A, Kuckinsky S, Pan J, Marr LC, Duggal N. MBio DOI: 10.1128/mBio.02527-21

Transparent and Sprayable Surface Coatings that Kill Drug-Resistant Bacteria Within Minutes and Inactivate SARS-CoV-2 Virus Behzadinasab S, Williams M, Hosseini M, Pon L, Chin A, Falkinham J, Ducker WA. ACP Appl Mater Interfaces  
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c15505
Recent Publications by CeZAP Affiliated Faculty
Evaluation of bisphenylthiazoles as a promising class for combating multidrug-resistant fungal infections Hagras M, Abutaleb N, Sayed A, Salama E, Seleem M, Mayhoub A. PLoS One 
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258465


Impact of extrinsic incubation temperature on natural selection during Zika virus infection of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus Murrieta R, Garcia-Luna S, Murrieta D, Halladay G, Young M, Fauver J, Gendernalik A, Weger-Lucarelli J, Ruckert C, Ebel G.  PLoS Pathog 
DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009433

MetaMLP: A Fast Word Embedding Based Classifier to Profile Target Gene Databases in Metagenomic Samples Arango-Argoty G, Heath L, Pruden A, Vikesland P, Zhang L. J Comput Bio
DOI: 10.1089/cmb.2021.0273

Seizing the moment: now is the time for integrated global surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in wastewater environments Pruden A, Vikesland P, Davis B, de Roda Husman A.  Curr Opin Microbiol 
DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.09.013

Single-cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Heterogeneity of Cultured Bovine Satellite Cells Lu P, Qui Y, Tu Z, Jiang H. Front Genet 
DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.742077

Correlating indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity in a sample of buildings in tropical climates Pan J, Tang J, Caniza M, Heraud J, Koay E, Lee H, Lee C, Li Y, Ruiz A, Santillian-Salas C, Marr LC. Indoor Air 
DOI: 10.1111/ina.12876

Nanobiotechnology enabled approaches for wastewater based epidemiology Rahman A, Kang S, Wang W, Garg A, Maile-Moskowitz A, Vikesland P. Trends Analyt Chem DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2021.116400

Qualitative exploration of the medical learner's journey into correctional health care at an academic medical center and its implications for medical education Hashmi A, Bennett A, Tajuddin N, Hester R, Glenn J Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract DOI: 10.1007/s10459-020-09997-4

A phylogenomic framework for charting the diversity and evolution of giant viruses Aylward FO, Moniruzzaman M, Ha AD, Koonin EV PLoS Biol DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001430

Editorial: Disease Ecology and Biogeography Escobar LE, Morand S. Front Vet Sci DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2021.765825
Insecticide-treated livestock: a potential One Health approach to malaria control in Africa Ruiz-Castillo P, Rist C, Rabinovich R, Chaccour CTrends Parasitol 
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2021.09.006

The Influence of Southwestern Virginia Environmental Conditions on the Potential Ability of Haemaphysalis longicornis, Amblyomma americanum, and Ablyomma macluatum to Overwinter in the Region Whitlow A, Schurch R, Mullins D, Eastwood G. Insects DOI: 10.3390/insects12111000

Horses affected by EPM have increased sCD14 compared to healthy horses Hay A, Wagner B, Leeth C, LeRoith T, Cecere T, Lahmers KK, Andrews F, Werre S, Johnson A, Clark C,  Pusterla N, Reed S, Lindsay D, Taylor S, Estell K, Furr M, MacKay R, Del Piero F, Witonsky S. Vet Immunol Immunopathol 
DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2021.110338

Engrafting Horse Immune CElls into Mouse Hosts for the STudy of the Acute Equine Immune Responses Leeth C, Adkins J, Hay A, Bogers S, Potter A, Witonsky S, Zhu J Animals (Basel) DOI: 10.3390/ani11102962

Seasonal ice nucleation activity of water samples from alpine rivers and lakes in Obergurgl, Austria Baloh P, Hanlon R, Anderson C, Dolan E Pacholik G, Stinglmayr D, Burkart J, Felgitsch L, Schmale D, Grothe H
Sci Total Environ
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149442

The Dominance of Fusarium meridionale Over F. graminearum Causing Gibberella Ear Rot in Brazil May Be Due to Increased Aggressiveness and Competitiveness Machado F, Kuhnem P, Casa R, McMaster N, Schmale D, Viallancourt L, Del Ponte E. Phytopathology DOI: 10.1094/PHYTO-11-20-0515-R

Systems-Level Proteomics Evaluation of Microglia Response to Tumor-Supportive Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines Ahuja S, Lazar L.  Front Immunol 
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.646043

Development of Exhausted Memory Monocytes and Underlying Mechanisms Pradhan K, Yi Z, Geng S, Li L. Front Immunol DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.778830

Coinfection of cattle in Virginia with Therileria orientalis Ikeda genotype and Anaplasma marginale Oakes V, Todd SM, Carbonello AA, Michalak P, Lahmers KK. J Vet Diagn Invest DOI: 10.1177/10406387211057627
 

The Infectious Disease Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (ID IGEP) offers graduate students the opportunity to get involved in remarkably diverse research approaches and topics, such as SARS-COV-2 vaccines, antiviral therapies, and tick-borne diseases.

The program will train PhD students that select to work in a home laboratory from the over 110 faculty members in 7 colleges and 31 departments affiliated with the Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens (CeZAP). READ MORE>>
 

Students Participating in the ID IGEP will learn to:

  • Tackle societal challenges related to infectious disease by integrating multiple diverse viewpoints
  • Partner with agencies, industry and the public to address ID issues beyond Virginia Tech
  • Participate as a member of a cross-campus ID community through activities such as poster sessions, research seminars and symposia that foster professional development
  • Communicate their research effectively to others outside of their field of study
  • Excel in coursework, while learning to apply strategies to predict and circumvent the risk of disease emergence affecting humans, animals and plants
  • Master technical skills necessary to solve complex ID research questions in a transdisciplinary manner 
How drones can change the agriculture industry

David Schmale, a Virginia-based farmer and scientist who runs the Schmale Laboratory at Virginia Tech, uses drones to track down pathogens before they even land. He has managed to capture the airborne fungus of Fusarium graminearum which is a great threat to wheat and corn and can travel hundreds of kilometers. He also uses air sampling whenever he discovers pathogens in a neighboring country. READ MORE>>
The 2021 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future

Luis Escobar is the co-author of a recent publication investigating the effects of climate change on human health that has been highlighted in more than 10 news outlets.  READ MORE>>
How COVID might sow chaos in the brain

Jonathan Joyce, a doctoral student in the lab of Andrea Bertke explained how his research team infected mice with the SARS-COV-2 virus—and then located viral RNA (instructions for making proteins) as well as viral proteins and the virus itself. 
READ MORE>>

To Foster and Promote a Cohesive and Synergistic Environment for Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Research







This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Center for Emerging, Zoonotic & Arthropod-borne Pathogens · 1918 Kraft Dr Rm 2036 · Blacksburg, VA 24060-6353 · USA