Sustainability Leadership Fellowship Cohort: 2011-2012

Ph.D. Student, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology

Research Summary: Mycobacterium bovis is a bacterium that causes Tuberculosis in most mammal species, including humans. We have developed genetic fingerprinting protocols to aid in tracking the disease in cattle and wildlife. There is a major financial burden to cattle farmers whose herds become infected due to federal regulations that require increased testing, culling of infected herds, and limits on transport of their cattle. This in turn can drive the cost of beef and dairy products up. There is also a financial impact on states in which deer hunting contributes to the tourism trade when Tuberculosis is endemic in their deer populations.