Ramesh Vemulapalli

• Immunology
• Infectious Disease
• Microbiology
• Biodefense

Dr. Vemulapalli’s research is primarily focused on the development of recombinant vaccines for infectious diseases. One of the targets of his vaccine research is brucellosis, a bacterial zoonotic disease caused by certain members of the genus Brucella. Brucellosis is a great concern to public health in developing countries due to widespread prevalence of Brucella infections in livestock. In the US, reservoirs of Brucella infections in wildlife, such as bison, elk, and feral swine, continue to pose a threat to livestock industries and human health. The currently available brucellosis veterinary vaccines are neither efficacious in wild animals nor safe for human use. Dr. Vemulapalli has developed novel recombinant vaccine strains that showed dramatically enhanced vaccine efficacy against brucellosis in murine models. Other ongoing research projects in his laboratory are aimed at understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of Brucella species, developing attenuated Brucella strains as vectors to deliver protective proteins of other pathogens, and development of molecular diagnostics assays for disease investigations.

• Dinesh S Bangari, Pamela Mouser, Margaret A Miller, Gregory W Stevenson, Ramesh Vemulapalli, H Leon Thacker (2007). Toxoplasmosis in a woodchuck (Marmota monax) and two American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). JOURNAL OF VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATION : OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF VETERINARY LABORATORY DIAGNOSTICIANS, INC. 6, 705-9
• Ramesh Vemulapalli, Neelima Sanakkayala, Jatinder Gulani, Gerhardt G Schurig, Stephen M Boyle, David S Lindsay, Nammalwar Sriranganathan (2007). Reduced cerebral infection of Neospora caninum in BALB/c mice vaccinated with recombinant Brucella abortus RB51 strains expressing N. caninum SRS2 and GRA7 proteins. VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY. 3-4, 219-30
• Sheela Ramamoorthy, Neelima Sanakkayala, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Neeta Jain, David S Lindsay, Gerhardt S Schurig, Stephen M Boyle, Nammalwar Sriranganathan (2007). Prevention of vertical transmission of Neospora caninum in C57BL/6 mice vaccinated with Brucella abortus strain RB51 expressing N. caninum protective antigens. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY. 13, 1531-8
• Sheela Ramamoorthy, Neelima Sanakkayala, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Robert B Duncan, David S Lindsay, Gerhart S Schurig, Stephen M Boyle, Ramanathan Kasimanickam, Nammalwar Sriranganathan (2007). Prevention of lethal experimental infection of C57BL/6 mice by vaccination with Brucella abortus strain RB51 expressing Neospora caninum antigens. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY. 13, 1521-9
• Porntippa Lekcharoensuk, Kelly M Lager, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Mary Woodruff, Amy L Vincent, Jürgen A Richt (2006). Novel swine influenza virus subtype H3N1, United States. EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 5, 787-94
• S Ramamoorthy, D S Lindsay, G G Schurig, S M Boyle, R B Duncan, R Vemulapalli, N Sriranganathan (2006). Vaccination with gamma-irradiated Neospora caninum tachyzoites protects mice against acute challenge with N. caninum. THE JOURNAL OF EUKARYOTIC MICROBIOLOGY. 2, 151-6
• Neha Dabral, Grant N Burcham, Neeta Jain-Gupta, Nammalwar Sriranganathan, Ramesh Vemulapalli (2019). Overexpression of wbkF gene in Brucella abortus RB51WboA leads to increased O-polysaccharide expression and enhanced vaccine efficacy against B. abortus 2308, B. melitensis 16M, and B. suis 1330 in a murine brucellosis model. PLOS ONE. 3, e0213587
• Andrés González-Smith, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Edilia Andrews, Angel Oñate (2006). Evaluation of Brucella abortus DNA vaccine by expression of Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase antigen fused to IL-2. IMMUNOBIOLOGY. 1-2, 65-74
• Tracy H Vemulapalli, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Gerhardt G Schurig, Stephen M Boyle, Nammalwar Sriranganathan (2005). Role in virulence of a Brucella abortus protein exhibiting lectin-like activity. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 1, 183-91
• Neelima Sanakkayala, Anna Sokolovska, Jatinder Gulani, Harm Hogenesch, Nammalwar Sriranganathan, Stephen M Boyle, Gerhardt G Schurig, Ramesh Vemulapalli (2005). Induction of antigen-specific Th1-type immune responses by gamma-irradiated recombinant Brucella abortus RB51. CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY IMMUNOLOGY. 12, 1429-36
• Simge Baloglu, Stephen M Boyle, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Nammalwar Sriranganathan, Gerhardt G Schurig, Thomas E Toth (2005). Immune responses of mice to vaccinia virus recombinants expressing either Listeria monocytogenes partial listeriolysin or Brucella abortus ribosomal L7/L12 protein. VETERINARY MICROBIOLOGY. 1-2, 11-7
• Ramesh Vemulapalli, Ingeborg M Langohr, Alfredo Sanchez, Matti Kiupel, Carol A Bolin, Ching-Ching Wu, Tsang-Long Lin (2005). Molecular detection of Leptospira kirschneri in tissues of a prematurely born foal. JOURNAL OF VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATION : OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF VETERINARY LABORATORY DIAGNOSTICIANS, INC. 1, 67-71
• Mohamed N Seleem, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Stephen M Boyle, Gerhardt G Schurig, Nammalwar Sriranganathan (2004). Improved expression vector for Brucella species. BIOTECHNIQUES. 5, 740
• Ramesh Vemulapalli, Andrea Contreras, Neelima Sanakkayala, Nammalwar Sriranganathan, Stephen M Boyle, Gerhardt G Schurig (2004). Enhanced efficacy of recombinant Brucella abortus RB51 vaccines against B. melitensis infection in mice. VETERINARY MICROBIOLOGY. 3-4, 237-45
• David J Pasnik, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Stephen A Smith, Gerhardt G Schurig (2003). A recombinant vaccine expressing a mammalian Mycobacterium sp. antigen is immunostimulatory but not protective in striped bass. VETERINARY IMMUNOLOGY AND IMMUNOPATHOLOGY. 1-2, 43-52
• Ramesh Vemulapalli, Yongqun He, Nammalwar Sriranganathan, Stephen M Boyle, Gerhardt G Schurig (2002). Brucella abortus RB51: enhancing vaccine efficacy and developing multivalent vaccines. VETERINARY MICROBIOLOGY. 1-4, 521-32
• Yongqun He, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Gerhardt G Schurig (2002). Recombinant Ochrobactrum anthropi expressing Brucella abortus Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase protects mice against B. abortus infection only after switching of immune responses to Th1 type. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 5, 2535-43
• Y He, R Vemulapalli, A Zeytun, G G Schurig (2001). Induction of specific cytotoxic lymphocytes in mice vaccinated with Brucella abortus RB51. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 9, 5502-8
• C M Fernandez-Prada, M Nikolich, R Vemulapalli, N Sriranganathan, S M Boyle, G G Schurig, T L Hadfield, D L Hoover (2001). Deletion of wboA enhances activation of the lectin pathway of complement in Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 7, 4407-16
• C P Walsh, R Vemulapalli, N Sriranganathan, A M Zajac, M C Jenkins, D S Lindsay (2001). Molecular comparison of the dense granule proteins GRA6 and GRA7 of Neospora hughesi and Neospora caninum. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY. 3, 253-8
• R Vemulapalli, Y He, L S Buccolo, S M Boyle, N Sriranganathan, G G Schurig (2000). Complementation of Brucella abortus RB51 with a functional wboA gene results in O-antigen synthesis and enhanced vaccine efficacy but no change in rough phenotype and attenuation. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 7, 3927-32
• R Vemulapalli, Y He, S M Boyle, N Sriranganathan, G G Schurig (2000). Brucella abortus strain RB51 as a vector for heterologous protein expression and induction of specific Th1 type immune responses. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 6, 3290-6
• R Vemulapalli, Y He, S Cravero, N Sriranganathan, S M Boyle, G G Schurig (2000). Overexpression of protective antigen as a novel approach to enhance vaccine efficacy of Brucella abortus strain RB51. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 6, 3286-9
• R Vemulapalli, S Cravero, C L Calvert, T E Toth, N Sriranganathan, S M Boyle, O L Rossetti, G G Schurig (2000). Characterization of specific immune responses of mice inoculated with recombinant vaccinia virus expressing an 18-kilodalton outer membrane protein of Brucella abortus. CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY IMMUNOLOGY. 1, 114-8
• R Vemulapalli, J R McQuiston, G G Schurig, N Sriranganathan, S M Halling, S M Boyle (1999). Identification of an IS711 element interrupting the wboA gene of Brucella abortus vaccine strain RB51 and a PCR assay to distinguish strain RB51 from other Brucella species and strains. CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY IMMUNOLOGY. 5, 760-4
• J R McQuiston, R Vemulapalli, T J Inzana, G G Schurig, N Sriranganathan, D Fritzinger, T L Hadfield, R A Warren, L E Lindler, N Snellings, D Hoover, S M Halling, S M Boyle (1999). Genetic characterization of a Tn5-disrupted glycosyltransferase gene homolog in Brucella abortus and its effect on lipopolysaccharide composition and virulence. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 8, 3830-5
• A A Oñate, R Vemulapalli, E Andrews, G G Schurig, S Boyle, H Folch (1999). Vaccination with live Escherichia coli expressing Brucella abortus Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase protects mice against virulent B. abortus. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 2, 986-8
• R Vemulapalli, A J Duncan, S M Boyle, N Sriranganathan, T E Toth, G G Schurig (1998). Cloning and sequencing of yajC and secD homologs of Brucella abortus and demonstration of immune responses to YajC in mice vaccinated with B. abortus RB51. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 12, 5684-91
• B Biswas, R Vemulapalli, S K Dutta (1998). Molecular basis for antigenic variation of a protective strain-specific antigen of Ehrlichia risticii. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 8, 3682-8
• R Vemulapalli, B Biswas, S K Dutta (1998). Cloning and molecular analysis of genes encoding two immunodominant antigens of Ehrlichia risticii. MICROBIAL PATHOGENESIS. 6, 361-72
• R Vemulapalli, B Biswas, S K Dutta (1998). Studies with recombinant proteins of Ehrlichia risticii: identification of strain-specific antigen as a protective antigen. VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY. 3, 189-202
• S K Dutta, R Vemulapalli, B Biswas (1998). Association of deficiency in antibody response to vaccine and heterogeneity of Ehrlichia risticii strains with Potomac horse fever vaccine failure in horses. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY. 2, 506-12
• R Vemulapalli, B Biswas, S K Dutta (1996). Pathogenic, immunologic, and molecular differences between two Ehrlichia risticii strains. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY. 11, 2987-93
• B Biswas, R Vemulapalli, S K Dutta (1995). Detection of Ehrlichia risticii from feces of infected horses by immunomagnetic separation and PCR. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY. 9, 2147-51
• Neha Dabral, Neeta Jain-Gupta, Mohamed N Seleem, Nammalwar Sriranganathan, Ramesh Vemulapalli (2015). Overexpression of Brucella putative glycosyltransferase WbkA in B. abortus RB51 leads to production of exopolysaccharide. FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY., 54
• Jamie M Fink, George E Moore, Ruth Landau, Ramesh Vemulapalli (2015). Evaluation of three 5' exonuclease-based real-time polymerase chain reaction assays for detection of pathogenic Leptospira species in canine urine. JOURNAL OF VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATION : OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF VETERINARY LABORATORY DIAGNOSTICIANS, INC. 2, 159-66
• Neha Dabral, Martha-Moreno-Lafont, Nammalwar Sriranganathan, Ramesh Vemulapalli (2014). Oral immunization of mice with gamma-irradiated Brucella neotomae induces protection against intraperitoneal and intranasal challenge with virulent B. abortus 2308. PLOS ONE. 9,
• N Jain-Gupta, A Contreras-Rodriguez, G P Smith, V K Garg, S G Witonsky, S Isloor, R Vemulapalli, S M Boyle, N Sriranganathan (2014). Immunotherapeutics to prevent the replication of Brucella in a treatment failure mouse model. VACCINE. 8, 918-23
• Neeta Jain-Gupta, Araceli Contreras-Rodriguez, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Sharon G Witonsky, Stephen M Boyle, Nammalwar Sriranganathan (2012). Pluronic P85 enhances the efficacy of outer membrane vesicles as a subunit vaccine against Brucella melitensis challenge in mice. FEMS IMMUNOLOGY AND MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY. 3, 436-44
• Emily Shebish, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Christian Oseto (2012). Prevalence and molecular detection of Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina in cattle from Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica. VETERINARY PARASITOLOGY. 1-2, 164-7
• Katie M Boes, Kristina O Goncarovs, Craig A Thompson, Lindsay A Halik, Andrea P Santos, Ana M S Guimaraes, Marybeth Miskovic Feutz, Patricia J Holman, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Joanne B Messick (2012). Identification of a Mycoplasma ovis-like organism in a herd of farmed white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in rural Indiana. VETERINARY CLINICAL PATHOLOGY. 1, 77-83
• Sriveny Dangoudoubiyam, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Momar Ndao, Kevin R Kazacos (2011). Recombinant antigen-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for diagnosis of Baylisascaris procyonis larva migrans. CLINICAL AND VACCINE IMMUNOLOGY : CVI. 10, 1650-5
• A M S Guimaraes, R F C Vieira, R Poletto, R Vemulapalli, A P Santos, W de Moraes, Z S Cubas, L C Santos, J N Marchant-Forde, J Timenetsky, A W Biondo, J B Messick (2011). A quantitative TaqMan PCR assay for the detection of Mycoplasma suis. JOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY. 2, 417-25
• C Frank, R Vemulapalli, T Lin (2011). Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis due to Cladophialophora bantiana in a Huacaya alpaca (Vicugna pacos). JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PATHOLOGY. 4, 410-3
• Jianguo Zhu, Charles B Larson, Megan Ann Ramaker, Kimberly Quandt, Jered M Wendte, Kimberly P Ku, Fang Chen, George W Jourdian, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Gerhardt G Schurig, Yongqun He (2012). Characterization of recombinant B. abortus strain RB51SOD toward understanding the uncorrelated innate and adaptive immune responses induced by RB51SOD compared to its parent vaccine strain RB51. FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY., 10
• Dina A Moustafa, Neeta Jain, Nammalwar Sriranganathan, Ramesh Vemulapalli (2010). Identification of a single-nucleotide insertion in the promoter region affecting the sodC promoter activity in Brucella neotomae. PLOS ONE. 11,
• Dina Moustafa, Virendra K Garg, Neeta Jain, Nammalwar Sriranganathan, Ramesh Vemulapalli (2011). Immunization of mice with gamma-irradiated Brucella neotomae and its recombinant strains induces protection against virulent B. abortus, B. melitensis, and B. suis challenge. VACCINE. 4, 784-94
• Sriveny Dangoudoubiyam, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Kathy Hancock, Kevin R Kazacos (2010). Molecular cloning of an immunogenic protein of Baylisascaris procyonis and expression in Escherichia coli for use in developing improved serodiagnostic assays. CLINICAL AND VACCINE IMMUNOLOGY : CVI. 12, 1933-9
• G N Burcham, J A Ramos-Vara, R Vemulapalli (2010). Systemic sarcocystosis in a striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis). VETERINARY PATHOLOGY. 3, 560-4
• A Sharma, M Tandon, Y S Ahi, D S Bangari, R Vemulapalli, S K Mittal (2010). Evaluation of cross-reactive cell-mediated immune responses among human, bovine and porcine adenoviruses. GENE THERAPY. 5, 634-42
• Martin E Coster, José A Ramos-Vara, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Jean Stiles, Sheryl G Krohne (2010). Coccidioides posadasii keratouveitis in a llama (Lama glama). VETERINARY OPHTHALMOLOGY. 1, 53-7
• Pamela J Mouser, José A Ramos-Vara, Ramesh Vemulapalli, J Catharine Scott-Moncrieff (2009). Pathology in practice. Inflammatory changes in the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem in a dog. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 10, 1153-5
• Ramesh Vemulapalli, Jatinder Gulani, Cecilia Santrich (2009). A real-time TaqMan RT-PCR assay with an internal amplification control for rapid detection of transmissible gastroenteritis virus in swine fecal samples. JOURNAL OF VIROLOGICAL METHODS. 1-2, 231-5
• Leslie McPherson, Shelley J Newman, Nancy McLean, Stephanie McCain, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Stephen Kania, Richard R Dubielzig (2009). Intraocular sarcomas in two rabbits. JOURNAL OF VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATION : OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF VETERINARY LABORATORY DIAGNOSTICIANS, INC. 4, 547-51
• R Johnson, J Ramos-Vara, R Vemulapalli (2009). Identification of Bartonella henselae in an aborted equine fetus. VETERINARY PATHOLOGY. 2, 277-81
• Sriveny Dangoudoubiyam, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Kevin R Kazacos (2009). PCR assays for detection of Baylisascaris procyonis eggs and larvae. THE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY. 3, 571-7
• Mohamed N Seleem, Neeta Jain, Hamzeh Alqublan, Ramesh Vemulapalli, Stephen M Boyle, Nammalwar Sriranganathan (2008). Activity of native vs. synthetic promoters in Brucella. FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS. 2, 211-5
• J D Webster, M A Miller, R Vemulapalli (2008). Encephalitozoon cuniculi-associated placentitis and perinatal death in an alpaca (Lama pacos). VETERINARY PATHOLOGY. 2, 255-8