NIH awards University researchers
$1.9 million grant
A Washington State University researcher recently received a five year, $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue research that will have a major impact on the prevention of infectious disease. The research targets secretion systems in bacteria that cause disease in humans and animals.
Wendy C. Brown, a professor and veterinary immunologist in the School for Global Animal Health, and her colleagues at the University study ways to prevent disease-causing bacteria from spreading infection by entering host cells. Specifically, the researchers are examining Anaplasma marginale, a microorganism carried by ticks that is known to be among the most costly causes of cattle disease worldwide. Australian authorities place the cost of anaplasmosis worldwide at more than $500 million annually.
Team seeks to develop stable vaccine
The disease-causing organism is a rickettsia, a type of bacteria that must invade, grow, and reproduce inside normal cells in order to produce disease. The cycle is similar to the requirements needed by viruses to cause disease. Up until now, it has been difficult to develop a cost-effective, stable vaccine for Anaplasma. Dr. Brown’s team hopes to find one or more proteins belonging to rickettsia that can be exploited to produce a high-quality vaccine that protects the immune system of cattle. More »
$25 Million Launches School
Grant supports global leadership in infectious diseases at the animal-human interface.
I want to give to the School for Global Animal Health.
