Emerging Infectious Diseases

A One Health approach to emerging infectious diseases recognizes that agents affecting humans also infect or arise from non-human animals and acknowledges the significant role that human activities, such as climate change, deforestation, and agriculture practices play in the emergence of zoonotic diseases. 

Emphasizing integrated approaches, researchers aim to discover:

• solutions to combat disease outbreaks based on epidemiological modeling and experimentation;
• systems modeling to understand and predict outbreak patterns;
• molecular and cellular mechanisms of virulence;
• interactions between vectors, microbes, and mammalian hosts;
• experimental evolution of host-pathogen interactions; and
• how environmental change affects disease outbreaks or the emergence of zoonoses.  

 

Public & Population Health 

Researchers are investigating and developing strategies to enhance the health and well-being of local, regional, and global communities, considering local, regional, and global perspectives.

Through interdisciplinary collaborations, cutting-edge research, and community engagement, the researchers can advance knowledge, inform policy decisions, and implement effective interventions to improve public and population health. 

Research includes:

• advanced surveillance systems and epidemiologic modeling for early detection, monitoring, and analyzing disease and lifestyle patterns;
• innovative health promotion and disease prevention strategies that improve health literacy, encourage healthy lifestyles, and reduce health disparities among diverse populations;
• effective and equitable healthcare delivery models that optimize healthcare resources, improve access to care, and enhance health outcomes for populations;
• how environmental factors such as air and water quality, occupational hazards, and built environment affects human health;
• interdisciplinary approaches to enhance preparedness for public health emergencies, including natural disasters, pandemics, and bioterrorism threat. 

Obesity & Cardiometabolic Diseases

Non-communicable diseases including obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, which are influenced by genetic factors, environmental factors, and health disparities, account for most public health concerns. Researchers collaborate across both basic and translational science perspectives to improve cardiometabolic health, including during aging, with an emphasis on addressing health disparities. 

TTUS faculty conduct research on mechanisms underlying diseases and identifying environmental and social influences using human and animal studies as well as cell and model organisms.

Nervous System, Neurological & Psychiatric Disorders

Numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders arise from dysfunction of the nervous system, including chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, and mental disorders such as substance use disorder/addiction, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and schizophrenia. There is a great need to advance knowledge about underlying mechanisms for the development of new and improved diagnostic tools and therapeutic strategies to reduce health disparities and improve the quality of life. 

OHI promotes innovative concepts and leads comprehensive, transdisciplinary programs that recognize the important role of genetic, dietary, behavioral, social and environmental influences across species. Building on existing strengths in chronic pain, neurodegenerative diseases, substance/alcohol use disorder, studies of the gut-brain axis, and comorbid illnesses, OHI programs provide the expertise and resources for mechanistic and translational studies from genes and molecules to systems and animal and human behavior. 

Cancer

Faculty at TTUHSC have extensive experience in cancer developmental therapeutics including molecular target discovery, preclinical testing, formulation development, IND-directed toxicology, pharmacokinetics, and designing and carrying out clinical trials. TTUHSC faculty are also carrying out investigations identifying cancer biomarkers that provide promising novel therapeutic targets.   

The Texas Center for Comparative Cancer Research, part of the TTU School of Veterinary Medicine, serves as a hub for Comparative Cancer Research. The multidisciplinary center accelerates our understanding of the underlying similarities and differences of cancer biology in humans and animals to help advance treatment options for both. 

Other areas of research include:

• devices that aid in the identification of cancer cells using microfluidic and imaging technology;
• treatment of cancer through targeted drug delivery to tumors using microneedles;
• discerning differences in cancer cells at the molecular level to identify cancer pathways and the mechanisms of effective treatment;
• studying the metabolic links between obesity, diabetes and cancer risks.