The Verocai Lab would like to welcome new PhD graduate student Maureen Kelly! Moving from Pittsburgh to Miami, she earned her BS in Biology in 2018 from Barry University. She then received her MS from Tulane University in Tropical Medicine in 2021. During her Masters, she found her passion for Public Health and Epidemiology. Maureen is excited to learn more about all types of parasites in the world! Her research will involve investigating the prevalence and distribution of the zoonotic parasite Onchocerca lupi through different molecular and diagnostic techniques. In Maureen’s spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her boyfriend Andre and her two dogs Rita and Oliver. She also enjoys going to the park with her dogs and running outdoors. 

Veterinary student and current member of the Verocai Lab, Hannah Danks, presented her awesome research at the 2022 VMBS Trainee Research Symposium. In addition, her work was recently published and is linked below. Way to go!

Opening a can of lungworms: Molecular characterization of Dictyocaulus (Nematoda: Dictyocaulidae) infecting North American bison (Bison bison)

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