Interdisciplinary Team Focuses on West Nile Virus Transmission
Article by: Rick Shaffer
Originally Published
An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Ohio State's Infectious Diseases Institute, including Drs. Megan Meuti (PI), associate professor, Department of Entomology, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; Andrew Bowman, professor, Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine; Jacqueline Nolting (co-PI), assistant professor, Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine; Laura Pomeroy (co-PI), assistant professor, Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health; and Brendan Shirkey, research coordinator, Winous Point Marsh Conservancy will work collaboratively on a project to study West Nile Virus transmission. The five-year project entitled, “Modeling biotic and environmental drivers of seasonal West Nile virus transmission”, is being funded by the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases.
The interdisciplinary research team will develop, test, and validate mathematical models using data collected through ongoing sampling of mosquitoes and birds in urban and rural areas in Ohio. The IDI Genomics and Microbiology Solutions Lab (IDI-GEMS) will conduct genomic sequencing services for the project.
The idea for the study was born in 2019 after an IDI Ecology, Epidemiology, and Population Health (EEPH) seminar series presentation by Dr. Meuti. From there, she began collaborating with Dr. Pomeroy. Dr. Joseph Tien, professor, Department of Mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences and IDI EEPH Thematic Program co-director, and Dr. Michael Oglesbee, professor, Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and IDI director, provided helpful feedback as part of the grant proposal submission.