Iowa State University · BiologyThe Leishmania Immunology Lab
Christine A Petersen · Ames, Iowa
Research Focus
Dr. Christine A Petersen's research lab at Ohio State University focuses on understanding how skin immune responses influence the transmission of Leishmania, a parasite that causes serious illness in both dogs and humans. By studying the interactions between the parasite, sand flies that spread the infection, and the immune system in the skin, her work aims to develop better strategies for controlling Visceral Leishmaniasis, a disease that poses significant health risks. The lab explores innovative therapeutic approaches to modify immune responses and curb the disease's spread.
Leishmaniavisceral leishmaniasisdog modelsimmune responsesand fly salivaimmunotherapyinflammationepidemiologyinfectious diseases
Research Aims
3AIM 01Identify immune responses in skin of dogs with clinical versus subclinical VL.
AIM 02Evaluate how sand fly salivary proteins interact with the altered skin immune environment.
AIM 03Assess the impact of dermal immunotherapy on inflammation and infection transmission.
Skills the Lab Values
PCRskin biopsy analysisflow cytometrymouse modelstranscriptome analysishistopathologyimmunohistochemistrycanine disease modelingparasite culturebioinformatics
Output against the department
Publications163top 41% of dept.420th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations4.1kbottom 31% of dept.717th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.