Congrats on the acceptance to TAMU Vet School to undergrads Cassidy and Ashley!
Postdoc grant
Congrats Jillian for being awarded funding from the CVM Postdoctoral Research Trainee Grant competition! Looking forward to more great work with the kissing bug colony.
Grad student/postdoc symposium
Congrats to our team for great representation in the 2019 CVMBS Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Research Symposium and Banquet. Dr. Jillian received the Peoples Choice award for her poster on triatomine flight capability. Rachel B. presented a great poster on canine Chagas disease epidemiology. Additionally, ‘High Impact Awards’ were given at the banquet, where Alyssa received a ‘Large Grant Recipient’ award (with money) and both Alyssa and Italo were recognized for first author publications.
Green Jay
In the summer Sarah assisted in a new Texas Parks and Wildlife Department investigation of the urban ecology of Green Jays in the Rio Grande Valley, led by biologist Tony Henehan. You can learn more with this short TPWD documentary with footage from the field. We are now working with blood samples collected from these birds for disease ecology research questions.
Italo and Carolyn’s research
Italo and Carolyn were interviewed during their ASTMH poster session, resulting in this news item: Chagas Disease in Texas- New Surveillance Data: High rates in dogs points to Environmental Persistence. Carolyn’s poster was about her new papershowing near equal prevalence of heartworm antigen and Chagas parasite antibodies in dogs in Texas animal shelters, in addition to tick-borne exposures (anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis).
Media for border patrol dogs
Alyssa’s work on Chagas disease epidemiology in the government working dogs (border patrol, TSA, etc) at ASTMH was featured with a press release (New Report Finds Tropical Disease Causing Heart Problems in Dogs Assisting with Homeland Security Duties), leading to coverage in the online media. This includes the US News & World Report, ProMED mail, ASTMH blog, EurekAlert!, LiveScience, Outbreak News Today, HealthDay, and more.
Lots of great news
Lots of great news to catch up on from Fall 2018:
- Three new PhD students arrive and plunge in! Welcome to Rachel B. (TAMU Merit Fellow), Spencer (CVM Merit Fellow), and Ed (TAMU Diversity Fellow)!
- Congrats to Skye (blood parasites in cranes) and Andy (cardiac manifestations of canine Chagas disease) for successful Vet Med Summer Research.
- Jillian Wormingtion gives EEB postdoc seminar on triatomine colony research
- Long over-due Publication Celebration at the Escape Rooms
- Congrats Carolyn on new position in Pathology at TAMU!
- Interview about Grackles for the CVM ‘Pet Talk’
- Sarah had a spot on the local news re: Chagas disease in dogs
- Schubot Center organized local bird banding outreach event at Lick Creek Park
- Congrats Alyssa for second place in the CVM Three Minute Thesis competition
- Alyssa and Italo organized a booth at the Engage:Global Health event at the ASTMH conference and shared shared how they are using portable ECG units to study canine Chagas disease among other things
- Congrats on the conference travel awards Alyssa (CVM GSA for Emerging Disease Conference), Alyssa (selected as Society of Vector Ecology student spekar with travel award), Jillian (CVM PDA award for Entomology Society of America), Italo (TAMU GSA and CVM GSA award for ASTMH), Alyssa (GSA award for ASTMH), Sujata (TAMU PDA award for ASTMH)
Sujata in the news
Great coverage of Dr. Sujata Balasubramanian and her genomics reesarch!
Fowlers chapter
Carolyn and Sarah’s new chapter on wildlife and Chagas disease is published in the new Fowler’s Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine textbook (Volume 9), featuring Carolyn’s original artwork and Gabe’s insect photography!
Congrats Lisa!
Congrats to Research Associate Lisa Auckland for being selected for a 2018 CVM Staff Recognition Award! Lisa received a nice plaque and a financial award too! Our whole team is sure lucky to have Lisa here to run the lab!
