Tony L. Goldberg
Associate Professor, Pathobiology
Professional Interests: My research
focuses on the epidemiology and evolutionary ecology of infectious disease.
Specifically, my laboratory employs epidemiological and molecular techniques
to help reconstruct patterns by which pathogens spread within and between
host populations, across complex landscapes, and over time. This involves
a combination of evolutionary biology, epidemiology, ecology and molecular
biology. My current research focuses on the following study systems:
1)
Primates. Using a variety of pathogen systems, my laboratory is studying
how human-induced changes to tropical forest habitats alter rates and
patterns of infectious disease transmission among people, non-human primates,
and domestic animals. The field component of this research takes place
in and around Kibale National Park , western Uganda. This project has
broad implications for human health, animal health, and the health of
ecosystems and is called the "Kibale EcoHealth
Project."
2) Pigs. Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome
virus (PRRSV) is one of the most economically damaging pathogens of domestic
swine. Research in my laboratory focuses on determining how the virus
evolves within animals and within herds, and how viral evolution interacts
with host immunity to affect clinical disease outcomes.
3) West Nile virus.
West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging vector-borne pathogen that has become
endemic in the United States . Research in my laboratory focuses on the
molecular evolution of WNV. Specifically, we are using viral gene sequence
data and coordinated spatial information to determine how the virus evolves
on small spatial and temporal scales, and what factors facilitate transmission
of the virus within and among host species.
4) Fish. Research in my laboratory focuses on
how human alterations to aquatic and marine habitats affect the health
of fishes and the sustainability of fisheries. Study systems include
centrarchid fishes (black bass and sunfish) in the United States and
bonefish (a popular near-shore sport fish) in The Bahamas. Because my
interests in infectious disease lie at the population and ecosystem levels,
I am currently engaged in activities at the University of Illinois and
elsewhere that focus on the concepts of "Conservation Medicine" and "Ecosystem
Health." Understanding
the relationships among human health, animal health and the integrity
of ecosystems is the underlying theme of my research and teaching.
Selected Publications:
Bertolotti L, U Kitron and TL Goldberg. 2007. Diversity and Evolution of West Nile virus in Illinois and The United States, 2002-2005. Virology , in press.
Goldberg TL, TR Gillespie, IB Rwego, ER Wheeler, EE Estoff and CA Chapman. 2007. Patterns of gastrointestinal bacterial exchange between chimpanzees and humans involved in research and tourism in western Uganda . Biological Conservation, 135:527-533.
Goldberg TL, TR Gillespie and RS Singer. 2006. Optimization of analytical parameters for inferring relationships among Escherichia coli isolates from repetitive-element PCR by maximizing correspondence with multilocus sequence typing data. Applied & Environmental Microbiology 72: 6049-6052.
Lowe JF, FA Zuckermann, LD Firkins, WM Schnitzlein and TL Goldberg. 2006. Immunologic responses and reproductive outcomes following exposure to wild-type or attenuated porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in swine under field conditions. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 228: 1082-1088.
Goldberg TL, EC Grant, KR Inendino, TW Kassler, JE Claussen and DP Philipp. 2005. Increased infectious disease susceptibility resulting from outbreeding depression. Conservation Biology 19: 455-462.
Goldberg TL, JF Lowe, SM Milburn and L Firkins. 2003. Quasispecies variation of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus during natural infection. Virology 317: 197-207.
Goldberg TL. 2003. Application of phylogeny reconstruction and character-evolution analysis to inferring patterns of directional microbial transmission. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 61: 59-70.
Goldberg TL, DA Coleman, KR Inendino, EC Grant and DP Philipp. 2003. Strain variation in an emerging iridovirus of warm water fishes. Journal of Virology 77: 8812-8818.
