Department:
Department of Comparative, Diagnostic & Population Medicine
Lekshmi K Edison MS, PhD, PGDBi
Postdoctoral Associate
Department:
Department of Comparative, Diagnostic & Population Medicine
Subhashinie Kariyawasam BVSc, PhD, DACVM, DACPV, DACVPM, DABMM
Chair, Department Of Comparative, Diagnostic, And Population Medicine; Professor, Microbiology
Department:
Department of Infectious Diseases & Immunology
Bikash Sahay
Research Associate Professor
Department:
Department of Comparative, Diagnostic & Population Medicine
Janet K Yamamoto PhD
Professor – Immunology And Director Of LCIV-CA
Department:
Department of Comparative, Diagnostic & Population Medicine
Pranaw Sinha BVSc
Postdoctoral Associate
Contact
Dr. Janet Yamamoto, Director of LCIV-CA, at yamamoto@ufl.edu.
Immunodiagnostic Service
Veterinary Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics
We are developing veterinary vaccines and immunotherapeutics for companion animals with focus on cats, dogs, and horses:
- Pan-coronavirus vaccine(s) for companion animals (cats, dogs, and hamsters)
- Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) immunotherapeutic cure
- T-cell based therapeutic FIV vaccine to prevent immunosuppression in FIV-infected cats
- Prophylactic DNA/mRNA FIV vaccine
- Feline, canine, and equine erythropoietin therapy
- Feline, canine, and equine granulocyte-colony stimulating factor therapy
Western Blot and Immunoblot Diagnostics
We provide Western blot or immunoblot diagnostics service for companion animals:
- Feline coronavirus/FIPV whole-virus immunoblot diagnostics
- Canine coronavirus whole-virus immunoblot diagnostics
- Feline immunodeficiency virus immunoblot diagnostics
- Immunoblot diagnostics for other veterinary viral diseases
Lipid Nanoparticle Delivery (LNP) System
We provide a species-specific lipid nanoparticle delivery (LNP) system for vaccine or drug delivery for companion animals.
Scientific Collaboration
We collaborate in a one-medicine mission with the Emerging Pathogen Institute to:
- Develop a pan-coronavirus vaccine that prevents SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans
- Evaluate the impact that emerging human viral pathogen(s) have on companion animals
- Provide service on a LNP delivery system for vaccines and immunotherapeutics against emerging human viral pathogens (e.g., SARS-CoV-2)
- Provide antibody and T-cell immune analyses, at cost, on human blood from convalescent subjects exposed to emerging viral pathogen(s), as well as from unexposed subjects
We also collaborate with veterinary and human companies on patented products of LCIV-CA.
CVM Cat Breeding Program
We maintain the CVM Cat Breeding Program as a service to provide specific pathogen free cats, at cost, to CVM and UF faculty members working on feline research.
Academic Missions
- Recruit and train CVM graduate student(s) on developing vaccines and immunodiagnostics
- Train pre-veterinary undergraduate students on veterinary immunodiagnostics and animal procedures
- Produce high-impact publications from collaborative research among LCIV-CA, CVM, and EPI faculty members
- Secure extramural funds for LCIV-CA, CVM, and/or EPI faculty collaborators