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Dr. Verocai goes to Philly – One Parasitology in Action

Dr. Verocai recently went to Philadelphia as an invited speaker of the One Health in Action (OHiA) initiative at University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (PennVet). The hosts were a Verocai Lab alumni, former NCVP resident and postdoc, Dr. Caroline Sobotyk, who is now the Assistant Professor of Clinical Parasitology at PennVet, and Dr. Stephen Cole, Assistant Professor of Clinical Microbiology. This two-day visit had a packed itinerary including a trip to the New Bolton Center (NBC) located in Kennett Square. There, Dr. Verocai gave a seminar titled “Helminth parasites of North American ungulates: from biodiversity to drug resistance” directed to wildlife- and large animal-oriented faculty. The seminar shared results from Verocai Lab projects focusing on parasites of the North American Bison. This included gastrointestinal nematodes and resistance to benzimidazole anthelmintics led by Kaylee Kipp (PhD Student) and our findings on a previously uncharacterized species of the lungworm genus Dictyocaulus, led by Hannah Danks (4th year vet student), who started working in the lab as a 1st year vet student apart of VMSRTP and continued to be involved for many semesters after. In addition, Dr. Verocai had the opportunity to meet with various OHiA faculty members, those involved with the Wildlife Futures Program, and tour through the Large Animal Hospital and PADLS, the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System. Back in Solar Eclipsed(!) Philly, Dr. Verocai met with Dr. Jenni Punt, Professor and Associate Dean of One Health, and participated in a Panel Discussion on “Zoonotic parasitic diseases and the impact of globalization and climate change on parasite transmissions” with vet student members of the One Health Club and the Parasitology Club.

The second day included a breakfast with vet students, a tour of PennVet’s Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital and the Microbiology/Parasitology Diagnostic Laboratories, and meeting with renowned researchers in Parasitology. To close this fruitful visit, Dr. Verocai delivered another seminar – “Zoonotic Helminths in Action in the US and Abroad”. This One Health-focused presentation highlighted our contributions to the knowledge on a few zoonotic helminths emerging in the US. Among these are our findings on the Onchocerca lupi led by Maureen Kelly (PhD Student), the eye-worm Thelazia callipaeda, and the rat lungworm, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which are the result of collaborative projects with different academic institutions. The second part of the seminar emphasized our involvement and contributions to the Guinea Worm Eradication Program, funded by The Carter Center, in which we focus on the discovery of diagnostic biomarkers and optimizing diagnostic tools for detection of Dracunculus medinensis infection in animal hosts. Much of our successes come from the outstanding work of Dr. Hassan Hakimi (postdoc) and the joint effort of the entire lab, including past and current members.

One Health, One Parasitology…

Checking for Ticks!

Last week, We had our first Tick Identification Wet Lab sponsored by Merck! Dr. Tiana Sanders and Ian Daniel (both tick experts in the Verocai Lab) gave presentations about common ticks one might see at their veterinary clinic and how to identify them. The lab also had an interactive component where students went from station to station looking at tick specimens and becoming familiar with their traits. This was a great collaboration with Dr. Jennifer Scata and Merck and we hope to continue this supplemental learning for students in the future!

2024 VMBS Trainee Research Symposium

As always, The Verocai Lab strives to have a strong presence at Texas A&M and in the local community. So, we were thrilled to have three amazing talks at this year’s 2024 VMBS Trainee Research Symposium. Not only did each student give a informative, well-delivered talk about their own research area, but our very own Maureen Kelly won best oral presentation! Join us in congratulating Maureen, Kaylee, and Mary for representing Verocai Lab and unbelievable scientists.

Maureen Kelly (PhD student): Vector-borne pathogens in dogs of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands

Kaylee Kipp (PhD student): Low-level detection of benzimidazole drug resistance in wild conservation bison herds co-grazing cattle using nemabiome sequencing

Mary Schech (Veterinary student): Wolbachia-detection via qPCR as an alternative molecular and classical heartworm microfilariae detection test

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Welcome Pabasara and Likun!

The Verocai Lab would like to welcome new incoming postdoctoral researcher Pabasara and our new lab manager Likun! We are very excited to have each of them joining our lab.

Pabasara is from Badulla, Sri Lanka, and earned her Bachelor of Science in Zoology (2014) and Master of Science in Food Science and Technology (2017) from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. She then joined Oklahoma State University in 2018 to pursue her PhD, where she became a part of the CATS lab in the College of Veterinary Medicine, working on Cytauxzoonosis. During this time, she developed a strong passion for studying host-parasite interactions and molecular diagnostic techniques. Upon completing her PhD in 2023, she accepted a postdoc position in the Verocai lab to work on a project that focuses on Dracunculus medinensis diagnostic markers. In her free time, Pabasara enjoys traveling and cooking.

Likun is from Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India and earned her doctoral degree in the field of food science and technology from University Laval, Quebec, Canada. She also worked as a research associate in the food science department of University Laval. After moving to college station, she got an opportunity to work for the same post with the Verocai Lab. In her spare time enjoys listening to music, dancing and spending time and playing with her little munchkin Nivaan.

We are thrilled to welcome two industrious and committed members to our team!

Verocai Lab is in the news!!

Happy New Year! We are excited to share a recent Verocai Lab publication that has drawn considerable public interest (see below). The article features the “rat lungworm”, or Angiostrongylus cantonensis, and how it has spread across the southeastern United States. These new details are significant to both human and animal health because of the parasite’s ability to migrate to the brain or spinal cord region! In addition to news articles, Dr. Guilherme Verocai was also featured in a CDC podcast to further discuss these findings. Please make sure to check it out to learn more about the parasite’s history, life-cycle, clinical picture, impact on public health, and what scientists are doing about it!

Angiostrongylus cantonensis Infection in Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus), Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2019–2022

Parasitic Brain Worm Spreading Across Southeastern U.S., Scientists Warn

Rat-Borne Parasite That Can Cause Brain Disease Spreading in Southern U.S.

Listen to Dr. Verocai’s interview on the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Disease Podcast! (also available on other podcast providers like Apple and Spotify)

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Gottdenker NL, Nascimento Ramos R, Hakimi H, McHale B, Rivera S, Miller BM, et al. Angiostrongylus cantonensis Infection in Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus), Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2019–2022. Emerg Infect Dis. 2023;29(10):2167-2170. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2910.230706

Happy Halloween! Some scary new papers!

At the Verocai Lab, one of our favorite holidays is Halloween because we get to talk about all the frightening (and cool) parasites that are out there. To celebrate, we have two new papers to pique your interest and give you chills!

The first paper is about Angiostrongylus cantonensis, or the rat lungworm. This is the first time that rat lungworm has been found in the state of Georgia and this is scary important news! The parasite causes a eosinophilic meningoencephalitis, which means that humans or other mammals may experience clinical signs similar to bacterial meningitis (e.g., nausea, vomiting, neck stiffness, and headaches). However, in rare cases, more severe signs can be apparent, which makes this parasite quite a fright. Read more about our published collaboration and how this story is making national news!

Angiostrongylus cantonensis Infection in Brown Rats (Rattus norvegicus), Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 2019–2022

Parasitic Brain Worm Spreading Across Southeastern U.S., Scientists Warn

Parasitic, Invasive Worm Found in Rats in Georgia

Worm that jumps from rats to human brains invades southeastern US

The second paper is about Spirocerca lupi, a parasite of dogs and wild canids that has the potential to cause esophageal nodules that can ultimately transform to neoplastic lesions (!). Read more about how the Verocai Lab and colleagues are trying to tease apart the geographic diversity of this important canid parasite.

Elucidating Spirocerca lupi spread in the Americas by using phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses

Happy Halloween Parasite Friends!

Verocai Lab Goes to Lexington (AAVP 2023)!

This summer the Verocai Lab returned to Lexington, KY for the 68th annual American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists Meeting. Not only did Verocai Lab bring a variety of diverse parasitology work to share, many lab members were the recipients of prestigious awards and scholarships! We are very proud of our whole team and had an amazing time reconnecting with our colleagues in the field! Take a look below for all the details on the amazing work by the lab.

Oral Presentation:

Ian Daniel (PhD Student): Screening of vector-borne pathogens using targeted next-generation sequencing in shelter dogs
Cora Garcia (Veterinary Student): The impact of ecogeographical variables on the potential distribution of Ornithodoros spp. in Texas
Kaylee Kipp (PhD Student): Deep amplicon sequencing of ranched bison herds revealed benzimidazole resistance in gastrointestinal nematodes in the southern US
Maureen Kelly (PhD Student): Improved specificity of a probe-based real-time PCR for the detection of Dirofilaria immitis in shelter dogs
Matthew Kulpa (PhD Student): Allopatric and sympatric sampling of Onchocerca of North American ungulates reveals a richer cryptic diversity and complex host associations
Rafael Ramos (Visiting Professor): Cutaneous myiasis by Calliphoridae dipterans in dogs from Chad, Central Africa

Poster Presentation:

Hannah Danks (Veterinary Student): Molecular characterization of Dictyocaulus (Nematoda: Dictyocaulidae) lungworms infecting white-tailed deer
Kaylee Kipp (PhD Student): Nemabiome metabarcoding of wild conservation bison herds and co-grazing cattle reveals different species compositions and benzimidazole resistance

Awards:

Young Investigator Travel Award – Ian Daniel, Hannah Danks, Cora Garcia, Kaylee Kipp, Maureen Kelly, Matthew Kulpa
Student Competition for Best Oral Presentation -Maureen Kelly (2nd place) and Cora Garcia (3rd place)
Student Competition for Best Poster – Hannah Danks (2nd place)
The Verocai Lab Team
Maureen giving her award-winning work on heartworm detection
Former superstar lab member Carol!
Colleagues Dr. Andrew Peregrine and Dr. John Gilleard
Matt giving his presentation on the cryptic parasites of cervids
Refueling and ready to learn!

Welcome Tiana Sanders!

The Verocai Lab would like to welcome new incoming PhD graduate student Tiana Sanders! Tiana is from Catoosa, Oklahoma and earned her BSAG in Natural Resource Ecology and Management in 2019 and her DVM in 2023 from Oklahoma State University. During veterinary school Tiana found a passion for parasitology and decided her next step would be a residency/PhD with the Verocai lab! Tiana is being funded by the Merck Animal Health Residency Program with a focus on Dirofilaria immitis, the canine heartworm. Tiana is an active member of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitology and in her spare time enjoys kayaking, watching scary movies, and playing with her three cats, Tuffy, Winnie, and Ellie. 

Welcome the new veterinary students!

Please welcome our new 2023 summer veterinary students for VMSRTP (Veterinary Medical Scientist Research Training Program): Kelsey O’Hara, Carmen Volz, Diane Briceno, and Mary Schech (Left to Right). Check out their individual biographies on the team webpage to find out more about their individual research interests! We are excited for they are joining the Verocai lab!

If you are first or second year veterinary student and interested in joining our team through the VMSRTP, you can fill out a application at: https://vetmed.tamu.edu/vmsrtp/.

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VMBS Research Trainee Symposium awards Verocai Lab Members!

Hassan Hakimi and Kaylee Kipp both entered the poster/oral competition at this year’s VMBS Research Trainee Symposium and both were awarded distinguished awards including: the People’s Choice for Best Flash Talk (Kaylee Kipp), and 3rd place best poster (Hassan Hakimi). Please join us in congratulating their hard work and great science communication skills! Great job guys!