Center For Infectious Disease Dynamics News | Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics

David Kennedy, associate professor of biology at Penn State, and Clara Shaw, now assistant professor of biology at the University of Minnesota Duluth Credit: Keith Hickey / Penn State / Penn State. Creative Commons

Aug 22, 2025

What traits matter when predicting disease emergence in new populations?

Traits of early virus spread help determine if a virus will ultimately persist in a new population, according to new research.

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Study lead author Sophia Kenney, postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Animal Science, samples a maternity pen for Salmonella Dublin. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

Aug 25, 2025

Bacteria strains infecting cattle and humans in US are highly similar

Researchers report dangerous, often antibiotic-resistant pathogen called Salmonella Dublin is circulating among animals, humans and food-associated environments.

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The treatment is used to control northern fowl mites, a blood-feeding parasite that can lead to health problems and lower egg production in chickens and other poultry. Credit: Zachariah Smith on Unsplash. All Rights Reserved.

Aug 15, 2025

Northern fowl mite treatment tested at Penn State receives FDA approval

A new way to treat poultry for fowl mites was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July, thanks in part to a team of researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

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In front of the main World Health Organization (WHO) building in Geneva, Switzerland, a statue commemorates the 30th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox. Now, researchers at Penn State and the WHO have developed a new method to estimate and predict regional measles vaccination coverage levels even when accurate or timely survey data on vaccination is not available. The new method can be used to guide better targeted vaccination interventions to potentially make measles the next human virus eradicated since smallpox. Credit: © WHO / Christopher Black . All Rights Reserved.

Jul 28, 2025

Predicting vaccination levels without accurate or timely vaccination data

Researchers at Penn State and the World Health Organization develop method to predict measles vaccination levels using routinely collected clinical data on suspected measles cases.

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H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak has caused mass die-offs in wild birds, farmed poultry and even wild mammals. New research suggests that widespread immunity to H1N1 seasonal influenza virus may explain why exposure to H5N1 bird flu causes only mild symptoms in humans. Credit: Opla/Getty Images. All Rights Reserved.

Jul 23, 2025

Seasonal flu immunity protects against severe illness from bird flu in ferrets

A study in ferrets — which have remarkably similar respiratory systems to humans — suggests that widespread immunity to H1N1 seasonal influenza virus may explain why exposure to H5N1 bird flu causes only mild symptoms in humans.

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Jasna Kovac, left, and Seth Bordenstein, right, are the co-program directors and authors of the BIOMS grant. Credit: Huck Institutes for the Life Sciences and Eberly College of Science / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jul 22, 2025

$2.6M NIH grant to fund new microbiome sciences training program at Penn State

The internationally recognized One Health Microbiome Center (OHMC) in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State is the recipient of a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to train doctoral students in biotechnological innovation, industry advancements and interdisciplinary microbiome research.

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Credit: Sharon Siegfried / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jul 16, 2025

Grant to help establish AI, health research lab at Harrisburg

A pair of Penn State Harrisburg faculty have been awarded funding to establish a research lab focused on using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve health care access and outcomes.

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Researchers reconstructed a high-resolution 3D image of a tick-borne Powassan virus. Credit: Courtesy of the Hafenstein lab at the University of Minnesota. All Rights Reserved.

Jul 10, 2025

Structure of tick-borne virus revealed at atomic resolution for the first time

Rates of the Powassan virus infections — which can cause seizures and paralysis — are increasing across commonwealth, nation.

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Credit: Curtis Chan / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jul 02, 2025

Eight graduate students receive U.S. National Science Foundation fellowships

Eight Penn State graduate students received U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships for the 2025-26 academic year.

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Queen bees emit a pheromone that attracts worker bees — the queen's daughters — to her side. Credit: Sean Bresnahan. All Rights Reserved.

Jun 20, 2025

How a genetic tug-of-war decides the fate of a honey bee

Despite having identical genetic instructions, female honey bee larvae can develop into either long-lived reproductive queens or short-lived sterile workers who help rear their sisters rather than laying their own eggs. Now, an interdisciplinary team led by researchers at Penn State has uncovered the molecular mechanisms that control how the conflict between genes inherited from the father and the mother determine the larva’s fate.

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