Susanna Remold and her lab members use a combination of ecological, evolutionary and genetic approaches to better understand causes of variability in the relationship between genotype and phenotype in disease organisms:

ONCOLYTIC VSV  

 Working with vesicular somatitis virus (VSV), we are using experimental evolution, genome sequencing and phenotypic characterization of recombinant viruses based on evolved alleles we are investigating the cascading effects of environmental history on genetic architecture, and the effects of the latter on the capacity of a virus to change its host use patterns.  This work sheds light on the process of disease emergence.  We are also using this approach to investigate how the genomic changes accompanying adaptation of vesicular somatitis virus (VSV) to a cancer cell line might be used in the design of oncolytic viruses (viruses which specifically kill cancers but not normal cells). This work is in collaboration with Paul Turner at Yale University and Mike Whitt at University of Tennesee, Memphis.

PSEUDOMONAS IN THE HUMAN HOME 

Our laboratory conducts ongoing sampling in human homes to isolate Pseudomonas species living on humans, their pets, and in abiotic parts of their homes.  Genotypic and phenotypic characterization of these isolates, together with culture-independent characterization of microbial communities from household niches, sampling of the abiotic environment, and experimental manipulation are allowing us to address the roles of dispersal and selection in the generation and maintenance of microbial diversity.  Because Pseudomonas includes species that are opportunistic pathogens (e.g. P. aeruginosa), we conduct some of our work in homes of people especially susceptible to infection with this bacterium, with the long-term goal of developing a better understanding of P. aeruginosa niche breadth and factors predisposing it to a pathogenic lifestyle. For more information, or to become volunteer your home for our study, download this flyer.

AEDES - DENGUE VIRUS INTERACTIONS   

In the third project we are investigating the effects of the introduction of the mosquito vector Aedes albopictus in the Americas, where Aedes aegypti has been abundant for centuries on evolution of dengue viruses (DENVs).   We focus on the potential role of interactions between mosquito larvae and the virus.  This interaction is virtually unexplored, despite the fact that the high densities at which larvae live and the long duration of this life history stage relative to that of adults mean it could have substantial ecological and evolutionary importance. This work is in collaboration with Tom Clark at Indiana University South Bend and with Karen Golemboski at Bellarmine University.

SUSANNA REMOLD'S PREVIOUS RESEARCH

In her dissertation research at Cornell University under Dr. Alison Power Susanna described the population structure of the plant virus BYDV and explored some of the ecological factors contributing to the maintenance of this structure. In a postdoc in Dr. Richard Lenski's lab at Michigan State University, she used random insertion mutations in the model organism Escherichia coli to study how the fitness effects of individual genes depend on the organism's ecological environment and evolutionary history. Susanna Remold has worked with VSV since beginning a postdoc in Dr. Paul Turner's lab at Yale University in 2002.