Pathogen Identification and Disease Diagnostic
CeZAP Thematic Group
Boris Vinatzer in The Laboratory of Plant & Atmospheric Microbiology & (Meta)Genomics using a desk lamp to get a closer look at plant samples.
Group leaders:
Boris Vinatzer
Affiliated Faculty:
Bahareh Behkan
Juhong Chen
Rachel Cheng
Lenwood S. Heath
Blake Johnson
Song Li
Lina Rodriguez Salamanca
Esra Büyüktahtakιn Toy
Boris Vinatzer
Pathogen detection and disease surveillance are key components of early outbreak detection for pandemic prevention of human, animal, and plant diseases. Effective high throughput detection of high-risk pathogens requires innovative sensor technology and deep knowledge of the pathogens that we want to detect. To obtain that knowledge, emerging pathogens need to be identified first. This requires extensive genome reference databases and efficient algorithms. Only upon identification, can pathogen-specific detection assays be developed and outbreaks can be attempted to be contained using vaccines and drugs in the case of human and animal pathogens or using disease-resistant crops in the case of plant pathogens. Scientists in the CeZAP Pathogen Identification and Disease Diagnostic thematic are at Virginia Tech are developing and applying innovative technology and software in pathogen identification, detection, and disease surveillance and diagnostics to help detect new disease outbreaks before they turn into the next pandemic.
