Technologies
The group has the rare expertise to culture primary epithelial cells from bovine and porcine gastro-intestinal tract. This in vitro infection model is being used to examine enteropathogens including Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium interactions with the bovine and porcine gut epithelium at the transcriptomic and proteomic level. Various bio-assays are being developed to examine role of different virulent factors in pathophysiology of O157 infection in cattle. Other technologies in the lab include the use of gene expression profiling. Here, we are using cDNA and exon arrays in collaboration with ARK- Genomics (www.ark-genomics.org) to gain a global understanding of gene expression and transcriptional regulation. The functional relevance of genes identified to be differentially regulated is then tested in vivo.
Dr Arvind Mahajan is leading the Clinical Microbiology Diagnostic Laboratory at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. The group has an advantage of working in close association with clinicians at the Small Animal Hospital, Equine and Large Animal Hospitals at the Easter Bush Veterinary Centre, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and offers various clinical microbiology based postgraduate research projects and as well as Honours and Summer vacation projects. In our Clinical Diagnostic Microbiology Laboratory at The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies we have access to an archive of a large panel of bacterial pathogens isolated from different livestock and companion animals, with possible human health implications. We are using this unique microbial resource for various research projects including, for example "Comparative phylogenomic and proteomic analysis of Clostridium difficile strains of animal and human origin".