Dana L. Vanlandingham, Ph.D.

Director of BRI Arthropod Rearing and Containment Facilities

dlvanlan@vet.k-state.edu

Responsibilities and Experience

Dana Vanlandingham, Director of BRI Arthropod Rearing and Containment Facilities, oversees the activities in the high containment insectary (ACL-3) and ACL-1 laboratories at the BRI. As Director, she facilitates communication between research teams and BRI insectary support staff and schedules research projects.

Vanlandingham is a Professor in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine. Her research is focused on zoonotic arboviruses; most of these viruses require high containment facilities. Current projects include:

1) Assessment of Risk and Development of Countermeasures for a Japanese Encephalitis Introduction in the United States. Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic flavivirus that can cause fatal infections in animals and humans. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the potential for JEV establishment in the US.

2) Biology of Mosquito Vectors of Arbovirus Transmission Associated with Emerging Disease Threats of Livestock. The purpose of this project is to facilitate research to enhance the understanding of arbovirus maintenance, transmission and infection/disease in mosquitoes, swine, and sheep. The overall goals of this research program is to understand how arboviruses adapt to insect and animal hosts and how this knowledge can be used to break the cycle of transmission and to develop better countermeasures to prevent the transmission of zoonotic diseases to human hosts.

3) Control of Emerging Bunyaviruses. Arboviruses in the family of Bunyaviridae utilize a wide range of arthropod vectors, e.g. mosquitoes, midges or ticks to transmit pathogens that have a high impact on human and veterinary public health. The overall goal of this project is to establish and evaluate a vaccine platform for the rapid generation of new vaccines to protect livestock against emerging bunyaviruses.

Professional Experience

• 2020-Present, Professor, Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University
• 2013-2020, Associate Professor, Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University
• 2016-Present, Kansas State University, Master of Public Health Graduate Faculty
• 2014-Present, Director, BSL-1 & BSL-3 Insectary, Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University
• 2013-Present, Kansas State University Graduate Faculty, Certified Member

Education

• PhD, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
• MS, Colorado State University
• BS, Colorado State University

Professional Activities

• Marty Vanier and Bob Krause BRI Research Fellow
• Fellow, Royal Entomological Society of London
• Coordinator, Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology Weekly Seminar Series
• Organizer, 2016 International Congress of Entomology, “Arboviruses and One Health”
• Co-organizer, 2015 Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute’s Animal Health Research Symposium, “The Growing Risk of Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Diseases”