More wonderful work from the Verocai Lab, check it out!

• Detection of Dirofilaria immitis via integrated serological and molecular analyses in coyotes from Texas, United States
• Dirofilaria immitis in an Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus) from southeastern Louisiana, United States

Congratulations to all the Verocai Lab Awards reciepinets! They are well-deserved and include:

• Guilherme Verocai for Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital Clinical Service Award
• Caroline Sobotyk de Oliveira for Outstanding Postdoctoral Research Associate Award
• Kaitlyn Upton for American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Awards
• Andrew Brown for Texas Veterinary Medical Foundation Student Research Scholar Award

Congratulations to these outstanding lab members and all the VMBS award winners.

We were delighted to host our esteemed colleagues and friends from Cornell (Dr. Mani Lejeune) and from Zoetis (Dr. Pablo David Jimenez Castro) earlier this month. Research collaboration is an important facet of the Verocai lab and we were all very excited to share data, ideas, and of course bad parasite puns. Below is a few links to check out some of the amazing work they have been doing prior to their wonderful visit to College Station, TX.

Dr. Pablo David Jimenez Castro’s ResearchGate

Dr. Mani Lejeune’s Faculty Webpage

Hello everyone! We hope you all had a restful winter break and happy holidays!!

Although, the Verocai Lab had no shortage of productivity during the Texas “cold” months of December and January. Perhaps even our most productivity! Check out some of the great recent work on monkeys, reptiles and even whales:

Molecular characterization of Dipetalonema yatesi from the black-faced spider monkey (Ateles chamek) with phylogenetic inference of relationships among Dipetalonema of Neotropical primates

Inactivating Effects of Common Laboratory Disinfectants, Fixatives, and Temperatures on the Eggs of Soil Transmitted Helminths

Endoparasites of pet reptiles and amphibians from exotic pet shows in Texas, United States

Crassicaudiasis in three geographically and chronologically distant Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) stranded off Brazil

Fatal Fascioloides magna in a lesser spot-nosed guenon (Cercopithecus petaurista)

Photo is from – https://www.centralfloridazoo.org/animals/lesser-spot-nosed-guenon/

The Verocai Lab attended the 2021 Fall Texas Bison Association meeting, hosted by Wild Horse Ranch and Lucky B Bison Ranch! Dr. Guilherme Verocai, Joe Luksovsky, Kaylee Kipp Ph.D. student, and Hannah Danks veterinary student were able to meet with many local bison ranchers. Informative presentations and networking opportunities regarding bison production and management strategies was the main focus of the annual meeting.

We want to congratulate all the Verocai Lab members who participated in the VMBS TAMU Graduate Student Oath Ceremony! In addition, we welcome all the new TAMU graduate students that were honored at this fun event and wish them well on their new scientific journey.

The Verocai Lab would like to welcome new postdoctoral researcher Tatiani Harvey! Tati has an amazing background and will be a welcomed addition to the Verocai Lab. Read more about Tati below:

“I was a consultant for the Zoonoses Surveillance Unit in the city of Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil, and was a columnist for a local newspaper on public health issues. In my PhD, I worked with enteric parasitic infections of dogs and humans, focusing especially on Giardia and Cryprosporidium. Currently, I am a active member of the Association for Institutional Research.

I have a passion for parasitology, especially its connection to public health, which implies zoonotic diseases. For me, diseases need to be investigated with an ecocentric rather than an anthropocentric perspective.

In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family. Among my hobbies I mainly include reading, watching documentaries about history, listening music, and the search for updates on what is happening in the political world of my country of origin.”

New school year, but same old production in the Verocai Lab! Check out the most recent fruits of our labor:

Retrospective study of canine endoparasites diagnosed by fecal flotation methods analyzed across veterinary parasitology diagnostic laboratories, United States, 2018

Presence of a cryptic Onchocerca species in black flies of northern California, USA

Lungworms in ruminants from Brazil: A retrospective epidemiological study over four decades

The Verocai Lab would like to welcome new Research Associate Neha Tyagi! We are very excited to have such a dedicated and hard-working member join the lab.

For the past month, The Verocai Lab has been hosting fourth year veterinary student Sarah Myers! Sarah is originally from Olathe, KS (suburb of Kansas City), and got her B.S in Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State in 2020. She is now a 4^th year veterinary student at Kansas State, with a primary interest in pursuing a PhD after graduating to become a boarded veterinary parasitologist with a job that combines research, diagnostics, and teaching. Sarah’s interest in parasitology started with a human parasitology class in undergrad that she had signed up for randomly to get a last elective credit, and it ended up being her favorite course and this research area has captivated her interest since! Sarah has been a wonderful addition to the lab and we are so excited for her future career in veterinary parasitology. Sarah submitted the following blurb below of her experience in the lab and we hope her experience leads to more passionate veterinary students to visit/join the Verocai Lab.

“I loved getting to spend three weeks in the Verocai lab getting to know everyone and help out with various parts of projects. You have an amazing team full of passionate and hardworking people making great contributions to the field. I can almost consider myself a professional mini-FLOATAC reader and aspiring copepod colony parent and have greatly appreciated feeling valued and included during my externship here.”