Karunasena tapped as AFS research assistant professor
Enusha Karunasena has been named a research assistant professor in Texas Tech University's Department of Animal and Food Sciences. The Austin native had previously served as a senior research associate in the laboratory of Mindy Brashears, director of Tech's nationally-recognized International Center for Food Industry Excellence.
Relying heavily upon her background in medical microbiology, immunology, and disease pathogenesis, Karunasena's research focuses on host-microbe communication, with a particular emphasis on how the endocrine and immune systems serve as portals for communication between host and gut microbiota.
Biological Response. "My overall interests are in determining how the host's biological response to pathogens is influenced by host physiological factors, natural flora of the gastrointestinal system, and, in return, the response by the pathogenic organisms to these conditions," Karunasena said.
Looking back at the previous four years working with Brashears, Karunasena highlighted several promising projects, including a vivo model study of a probiotic intervention protocol aimed at preventing the onset of the slow, wasting away of cattle infected by a bacterium associated with Johne's Disease (pronounced yo-knees). It is a contagious, chronic and sometimes fatal infection that affects primarily the small intestine of ruminants, any hooved animal that digests its food in two steps.
The goal is to determine whether or not a commercially distributed direct-fed microbial that has been successful in reducing E.coli in cattle would also be effective in preventing Johne's Disease, Karunasena said.
Pathogen Behavior. Separately, Karunasena is interested in the evaluation of cattle stress as a determinant in food-borne pathogen behavior. As part of an ongoing study funded by the National Cattle & Beef Association and the Lubbock South-Plains Foundation, she and her colleagues hope to identify factors that contribute to physiological stress in cattle that result in the production of stress hormones that subsequently influence bacterial virulence.
"To date our data suggests that cattle diet influences endocrine and immune responses, which then contribute to changes in virulence factor-expression by pathogenic E.coli," she said.
The hope is that these studies will influence future research efforts to determine how understanding animal stress-compounds and their communication with the microbiota might reduce pathogen shedding, and lead to safer food products while reducing human illnesses due to food-borne agents.
Karunasena received her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Her master's and doctorate degrees in microbiology and immunology are from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. She's a member of Tri-Beta Biological Honor Society, American Society for Microbiology and the International Association for Food Protection.
Written by Sean Cleveland
CONTACT: Enusha Karunasena, research assistant professor, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-5073, ext. 267 or enusha.karunasena@ttu.edu
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