In a research journey that has taken her all the way to Europe, a University of Saskatchewan (USask) doctoral student is investigating the functions and effects of different infectious diseases in animals – and how these could potentially be combatted with vaccines.
Kezia Fourie is a PhD student researcher at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at USask, where she has had the opportunity to investigate Lawsonia intracellularis, a bacteria found in pig barns around the globe that mainly infects the intestines of pigs, but also has impacts on many other species.
“During infection, pigs gain weight at a slower rate than healthy pigs, leading to economic losses through poor feed efficiency, increased husbandry costs and mortality in severe cases,” said Fourie, who is pursuing her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Heather Wilson (PhD), a research scientist at VIDO and an adjunct professor of veterinary microbiology at the USask Western College of Veterinary Medicine.
Fourie serves as part of a VIDO research team developing a subunit vaccine for ileitis, inflammation of the stomach that can be caused by the Lawsonia intracellularis bacteria. A subunit vaccine uses only parts of a whole bacteria to build immunity in a host (the organism infected by the pathogen). The vaccine is still in development but has potential to be the first subunit vaccine that exists to protect pigs from this particular bacteria.
As her research and learning has progressed throughout her PhD program, Fourie became interested in the opportunity to study abroad and experience international collaboration in vaccine research.
“A big part of research is continuously learning, expanding your network, learning to be adaptable, and more,” she said. “Doing research abroad is a great way to do all of those things while also having the experience of being in a different country.”
She approached her supervisor to see if an international research opportunity was possible, and eventually ended up applying for research funding through Mitacs to pursue a similar animal pathogen study at the Roslin Institute (RI) in Edinburgh, Scotland, on a collaborative project with the Moredun Research Institute, also located in Scotland.
Her project at RI focused on Toxoplasma gondii, “a pathogen of cats that can infect a wide variety of species including humans and sheep,” she said. “Toxoplasma gondii is a major foodborne illness found in all corners of the globe that can infect humans and almost all animals. Currently, there is no vaccine available for use in humans to prevent disease caused by this pathogen.”
Although there is only one species of T. gondii, there are many strains of the parasite with varying degrees of severity resulting in different disease outcomes, she said.
This research work focused on studying the interactions that occur between the host and the pathogen. Fourie helped to analyze different protein samples produced by the host to further understand how different strains of this pathogen can cause more severe disease than others.
“When a human or animal is infected [with T. gondii], the host may not feel sick at all, may have mild flu-like symptoms, or may die from serious complications,” said Fourie. “Knowing information like this is important in helping humans and animals affected by this pathogen.”
Her advice to anyone thinking of pursuing studies abroad during their education? If you have the opportunity, take the chance.
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