Veterinary Pathobiology

Developing new and improved tools to diagnose, prevent and control brucellosis and other infectious diseases; capacity building with colleagues worldwide to reduce disease incidence of the zoonotic diseases, and training of next generation scientists in biosafety, biosecurity, and technology transition from research to commercialization.

Dr. Criscitiello’s lab engages in comparative studies of the evolution of immune systems, including genesis, subsequent natural history, and trajectory into the future, and investigates how the adaptive system was built upon the extant innate system at the molecular, cellular, tissue, organismal, and population levels.

Veterinarians and livestock producers are our first line of defense to prevent the widespread dissemination of foreign animal disease (FAD) agents in the US. The introduction of FAD to American livestock can have a negative impact on all aspects of the livestock industry and eventually on the national economy.

Studying issues affecting pet, wild, and exotic birds by conducting research that examines their health and the habitats in which they live. Engaging in studies designed to improve health with approaches that span genetics/genomics, infectious disease, epidemiology, parasitology, community science, and conservation science.

Using a combination of bacteriological, biochemical, genetic, and functional genomic approaches, in conjunction with a mouse model, a non-human primate model, and ex vivo and in vitro models to study key aspects of host-uropathogen interaction during urinary tract infection (UTI).

Working in the lowlands of southeastern Peru for more than two decades, Drs. Brightsmith and Vigo-Trauco are leading an expansion to the rest of the neotropics, as they work with collaborators on a broad array of projects and student experiences focused on the ecology and conservation of psittacines.

Studying helminth parasites to better understand the world’s biodiversity and improve health while advancing diagnostic tools for detecting infections caused by helminths of domestic animals, wildlife, and humans, including collaborative projects aiming to better understand vector-borne and zoonotic parasites.

Providing research and education opportunities, across species and locations, to undergraduate, graduate, and veterinary students, focusing on conservation genomics, a subfield of population genetics that uses biotechnology to preserve and restore biodiversity, while giving students hands-on opportunities with exotic and wildlife species.

Investigating how viruses (mainly poxviruses) replicate to expand the knowledge of both viruses and their hosts, and developing novel strategies to combat human and animal viral diseases, including veterinary and human vaccine vectors and cancer treatment agents, while training the next generation of biomedical scientists.