Research programs within the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases & Immunology are focused on understanding fundamental mechanisms of disease, pathogen-host interactions, zoonotic and emerging infections, and immunological responses for controlling disease. Our research programs involve diverse pathogens and our faculty are dedicated to offering state-of-the-art training for veterinary students, graduate students, residents, and post-doctoral fellows, in preparation for careers in veterinary medicine and the biomedical sciences.
The Laboratory is responsible for teaching the following courses:
- Parasitology (VPTH603)
- Immunology (VPTH604)
- Microbiology (VPTH605)
The Parasitology course aims to provide students with basic knowledge about the important helminth, protozoan and arthropod parasites of domesticated animals in the United States and to provide sufficient information to enable students to diagnose, treat, and control these parasitic infections. The course will present lectures about the individual parasites of animals as well as lectures on how to control infections in individual animal hosts. In addition, weekly laboratories will provide students with knowledge about how to diagnose individual parasitic infections. A series of case studies presented during the laboratory sessions will provide students with the opportunity to work individually or in groups to address various questions relating to clinical parasitology.
The Immunology course aims to educate students in Veterinary Medicine on fundamental aspects of immunology, including functional anatomy of the immune system, mechanisms of innate and adaptive immunity, immunological mechanisms of disease, and principles of vaccination By the end of this course, students are able to: recognize immunological organs, cells, and molecules that participate in the response to viruses, bacteria, and parasites and describe the mechanisms that mediate pathogen clearance and protection from reinfection, identify and describe mechanisms of immune regulation, recognize immune-mediated diseases (hypersensitivities, immune deficiencies, autoimmunity) and describe the immunological mechanisms involved in disease onset, explain the impact of the immune system on tumors and describe mechanisms to manipulate the immune response for the benefit of the patient describe principles of vaccination, recognize different vaccine formulations, identify caveats and benefits, and describe the impact of vaccination on veterinary medicine, and identify differences and similarities of the immune response across species.
The Microbiology course in the fall semester of the Second Year curriculum includes laboratory exercises that teach basic principles of bacteriology as it is practiced in a diagnostic setting. The course is divided into three major sections: basic microbiology without reference to disease; bacterial and fungal diseases of veterinary importance; and virology of RNA and DNA viruses of veterinary importance. Additional lectures on zoonosis, anti-microbial agents, vaccines and infectious diseases of fish are also included. The last four lectures review the infectious agents and diseases by organ systems. More detailed studies of microbial pathogens and bioterrorism agents are discussed in a complementary seminar type elective course (VPTH634) offered in the fall semester to third and fourth year students.
Faculty
- Igor Brodsky, Ph.D.
- De’broski Herbert, Ph.D.
- Christopher Hunter, Ph.D.
- Roselyn Eisenberg, Ph.D.
- Ronald Harty, Ph.D.
- James Lok, Ph.D.
- Michael Povelones, Ph.D.
- Dieter Schifferli, Dr.med.vet., Ph.D.
- Philip Scott, Ph.D.
- Oriol Sunyer, Ph.D.