Jeff Caswell

DVM, DVSc Guelph (1995); PhD Saskatchewan (1998); Diplomate ACVP (1996)

 jcaswell@uoguelph.ca
 Office: PAHL 3828
 519-824-4120 Ext. 54555

 Lab: PAHL 3806
 519-824-4120 Ext. 54634

 Personal Website

Research Interests

• Pathogenesis of infectious diseases of the lung
• Innate immune responses in defence against opportunistic infections
• Pathology of the respiratory system

 My research interests centre on innate resistance to opportunistic bacterial infection, and on the pathogenesis of infectious diseases of the respiratory system. Bacterial pneumonia is a major cause of death and production loss in food-producing animals, particularly beef calves and swine, yet most animals are innately resistant to infection with the bacteria that cause pneumonia. Stress and viral infection are two well-recognized predisposing causes of bacterial pneumonia, yet much remains to be learned of how these factors impair lung defences. Pneumonia in beef cattle and swine is a useful system for investigating how stress and viral infection influence the interaction between the host, the pathogen, and the environment. Potential applications include identification of animals at risk of developing bacterial pneumonia, better identification of risk factors for disease susceptibility; genetic improvement of innate resistance to bacterial infection; and augmentation of innate resistance through strategies of animal management, nutrition, or therapeutic intervention other than antibiotics.

Current research includes:

• Identification of impairments in airway innate immune responses that predispose to bacterial pneumonia, and investigation of the mechanisms by which stress and viral infection affect these innate immune responses
• Effect of genetic polymorphisms in innate immune genes on antimicrobial responses of airway epithelial cells
• Pathogenesis of pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma bovis in feedlot cattle
• Investigation of familial systemic amyloidosis in Siamese and Balinese cats

Current Graduate Students

• Zahra Nilousefat - PhD
• Ananda Pires - PhD
• Saeid Tabatabaei - PhD
• Ritu Verma - PhD
• Carmon Co - DVSc
• Dominique Comeau - DVSc

Teaching

Undergraduate

• VETM*3450 Principles of Disease in Veterinary Medicine: Inflammation, Immune-mediated disease, and Tissue repair
• VETM*4490 Systems Pathology: Respiratory and cardiovascular pathology
• VETM*4620/4680/4940/4720 Health Management: Anatomic Pathology rotation, rotation coordinator
• PATH 3610 Principles of Disease: Respiratory disease

Graduate

• PABI*6110 Pathology I: Respiratory pathology, course coordinator
• PABI*6130 Pathology II: Cardiovascular pathology
• PABI*6104 Mechanisms of Disease: Inflammation, immune-mediated disease
• PABI*6080/6090/6091 Diagnostic Pathology

Selected Publications

• Caswell JL and Williams K. The respiratory system. In: Jubb, Kennedy, and Palmer’s Pathology of Domestic Animals, 5th ed. Maxie MG et al. (eds). Pp. 523-655. Elsevier, Edinburgh, 2007.
• Mitchell GB, Clark ME, Siwicky M, Caswell JL. Stress alters the cellular and proteomic compartments of bovine bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Vet Immunol Immunopathol 125: 111-125, 2008.
• Caswell JL and Archambault M. Mycoplasma bovis pneumonia in cattle. Animal Health Research Reviews (2007), 8:161-186.
• Mitchell GB, Clark ME, Caswell JL. Alterations in the bovine bronchoalveolar lavage proteome induced by dexamethasone. Vet.Immunol.Immunopathol. 118: 283-293, 2007.
• Mitchell GB, al-Haddawi M, Clark ME, Beveridge JD, Caswell JL. Effect of corticosteroids and neuropeptides on the expression of defensins in bovine tracheal epithelial cells. Infection and Immunity 75: 1325-1334, 2007.
• Al-Haddawi M, Mitchell GB, Clark ME, Wood RD , Caswell JL. : Impairment of innate immune responses of airway epithelium by infection with bovine viral diarrhea virus. Vet.Immunol.Immunopathol. 116: 153-162, 2007.
• Weingartl HM, Berhane Y, Caswell JL, Loosmore S, Audonnet J-C, Roth JA, Czub M. Recombinant Nipah virus vaccines protect pigs against challenge. Journal of Virology 80:7929-38, 2006.
• Gagea MI, Bateman MG, van Dreumel T, McEwen BJ, Carman S, Archambault M, A. Shanahan R, and Caswell JL. Diseases and pathogens causing mortality in Ontario beef feedlots. J Vet Diag Invest 18: 8-28, 2006.
• Gagea MI, Bateman MG, Shanahan R, van Dreumel T, McEwen BJ, Carman S, Archambault M, A. and Caswell JL. Naturally occurring Mycoplasma bovis pneumonia and polyarthritis in feedlot beef calves. J Vet Diag Invest 18: 29-40, 2006.
• Caswell JL, Middleton DM, Sorden SD, and Gordon JR. Expression of the neutrophil chemoattractant interleukin-8 in the lesions of bovine pneumonic pasteurellosis. Veterinary Pathology 35: 124-131, 1998.
• Caswell JL, Yager JA, Parker WM, and Moore PF. A prospective study of the immunophenotype and temporal changes in the histologic lesions of canine demodicosis. Veterinary Pathology 34: 279-287, 1997.

 Search PubMed for additional publications by Dr. Caswell.