2018 NSTP Fellowship Awardees
Five students were awarded NBAF Scientist Training Program fellowships in August 2018. From left in the photo below, they are Kaitlynn Bradshaw, Laura Constance, Chester McDowell, Victoria Ayers, and Christian Cook.
Read a news release about the awardees.
Kaitlynn Bradshaw is a student in the veterinary biomedical sciences master’s program in the department of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology in the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. A. Sally Davis. She received a bachelor’s degree in biology from K-State in May 2018.
Bradshaw has conducted research in a biosafety level (BSL)-2 laboratory for more than two years, utilizing immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, in situ hybridization, and PCR techniques with several pathogens of interest, including Pneumocystis, human immunodeficiency virus, and BSL-2 strains of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV). In 2017, she completed BSL-3 laboratory training at the Biosecurity Research Institute and has since worked with infectious agents including African and classical swine fever virus.
Bradshaw’s project is focused on the validation of high sensitivity and specificity in situ hybridization (ISH) assays for both the detection and quantification of RVFV RNA using immunohistochemistry and quantitative RT-PCR as comparative assays. She also intends to assist in further validation and development of ISH techniques’ ability to differentiate vaccinated from infected animals (DIVA), an invaluable diagnostic tool that could be used to determine the return to disease free status by providing the ability to distinguish between vaccinated and infected animals in an outbreak situation. Although this virus is currently not present in the United States, this work is necessary to address the need for safer, more reliable diagnostic tools for RVFV that lessen the risk to humans through the use of preserved samples and aid in expanding the currently limited techniques for researching this BSL-3+ virus.
Laura Constance is a concurrent DVM/PhD student at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine working under the mentorship of Dr. Megan Niederwerder. She received a bachelor’s degree in zoology and a master’s in physiology from North Carolina State University. She started her veterinary degree in 2012 and joined Dr. Niederwerder’s laboratory in 2016.
One of Constance’s research focuses is the gut microbiome and its role in respiratory disease of swine. Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is the most economically devastating disease of swine worldwide. In the most recent analyses, PRRS was estimated to cost U.S. swine producers approximately $664 million per year. PRRS infections increase antimicrobial usage in pigs due to reduced growth, compromised immunity, secondary bacterial infections and respiratory disease. With growing concern for antimicrobial usage within food animals and the lack of control using vaccination strategies, alternative tools are needed to treat disease or enhance methods used for disease control. The gut microbiome is a promising alternative tool due to its important role in both immunity and weight gain.
Constance completed the Department of Homeland Security-funded Transboundary Animal Disease Fellowship, obtaining advanced training in high-biocontainment work. She will continue to work with major foreign animal diseases that affect the swine industry, including African swine fever virus (ASFV), classical swine fever virus (CSFV), and pseudorabies virus (PRV). Although the United States is free of these swine diseases, the substantial movement of livestock (including approximately one million pigs daily) across the country raises concerns of concurrent disease movement. The introduction of foreign animal diseases would have severe socio-economic implications to both food security and international trade. The goals of her research and laboratory are to investigate whether feed could also be a route of introduction for ASFV, CSFV, and PRV, just as it was in the 2013 outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus.
Chester McDowell is a concurrent DVM/PhD student in the department of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology in the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He obtained bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and chemical science at K-State, where he went on to complete a master’s degree in biochemistry studying protein-protein interactions. He has extensive experience performing diagnostic and vaccine research in high-containment laboratory settings on multiple transboundary pathogens, including Rift Valley fever virus, African swine fever virus, and avian influenza. These diseases pose significant threats to human and animal health and present severe implications for domestic and international agriculture.
Recent advancements have facilitated the development of inexpensive, deployable equipment and technology capable of detecting and characterizing pathogens at the genetic level, providing invaluable information to scientists and policymakers in the fields of animal and public health. McDowell’s current research involves developing novel assays and methods for the detection, characterization, and surveillance of high-consequence emerging animal and zoonotic diseases using genetic sequencing and bioinformatics, with a focus on portable sequencing technologies for use in laboratory and field settings.
Victoria Ayers is a doctoral candidate in diagnostic medicine/pathobiology and a fellow in the Department of Homeland Security-funded Transboundary Animal Disease Fellowship program. She received her bachelor’s degree in animal science with the pre-veterinary option from Kansas State University.
Ayers has conducted research in high-biocontainment laboratories including research projects on Cache Valley virus (CVV), Schmallenberg virus (SBV), Japanese Encephalitis virus, and Zika virus in biosafety level (BSL)-3, arthropod containment level 3, and BSL-3Ag laboratories. In 2017, she also received simulated BSL-4 training at Boston University’s National Emerging and Infectious Disease Laboratories.
Victoria’s dissertation is titled, “Characterization of Emerging and Re-emerging Bunyaviruses in Arthropod and Vertebrate Hosts.” Her dissertation research focuses on the characterization of emerging bunyaviruses and the development of a vaccine platform for all existing bunyaviruses that affect ruminants using reverse genetics. This project provides a multidimensional platform for research experience by including vector competence, immunogenicity, and protection challenge studies of emerging bunyaviruses.
Christian Cook is a doctoral student in diagnostic medicine/pathobiology. She received her bachelor’s degree in animal science with an emphasis in animal biotechnology from Oklahoma State University and a master’s degree in animal science—physiology of reproduction from Texas A&M University.
As a Department of Homeland Security Transboundary Animal Disease Fellowship awardee, she has accumulated more than 600 hours of research in the biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) and arthropod-containment level 3 laboratories at the Biosecurity Research Institute. She works with infectious agents including Japanese encephalitis, Schmallenberg, Usutu, and Cache Valley viruses. As a TAD Fellow, she completed BSL-4 simulator training at the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories at Boston University in July 2018.
Cook’s PhD dissertation project will investigate the disease pathogenesis and evolution process of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in swine amplification hosts. This will enable her to quantify the selective pressure for JEV in infected animals and characterize variants among modes of transmission. Completion of the study will determine the role of swine species in the evolution of JEV and determine its contribution in the establishment of transmission cycles outside endemic regions. In addition to her dissertation project, she will enhance her current experience in high-containment research by participating in collaborative projects within the Vanlandingham laboratory.