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College of Veterinary Medicine

Isabel Gimeno

IG
Isabel Gimeno

Professor

CVM Main Building C329

919-513-6852

Bio

Professional Experience
July 2012 to present. Associate Professor. Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University.
February 2006 to July 2012. Assistant Professor. Department of Population Health and Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University.
February 2002 to January 2006. Postdoctoral position at the USDA-ARS Avian Disease and Oncology Laboratory, East Lansing, MI.
January 2001 to January 2002 . Research Associate at the Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
January 2000 to December 2000. Research Associate at the Research Institute for Animal Health (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Madrid.

CERTIFICATIONS

Diplomate, American College of Poultry Veterinarians

Education/Training
Diplomate, American College of Poultry Veterinarians
PhD, Veterinary Pathology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 1999
MS, Poultry Diseases and Production, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 1996
Licenciado en Veterinaria (DVM equivalent) – Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 1995

Area(s) of Expertise

GLOBAL HEALTH, INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Marek's disease (MD) is a lymphoproliferative disease induced by the alpha-herpesvirus Marek's disease virus (MDV). MDV has evolved towards more virulent forms in the recent decades. The efficacy of MDV vaccines has decreased concomitantly with the increase in virulence of field isolates. Of particular importance, the most commonly utilized vaccine in the USA during the past 20 years (bivalent vaccine including serotypes 2 and 3) does not protect chickens against the most recently isolated strains of MDV, the very virulent plus (vv+/). Attenuated serotype 1 vaccines seem to confer better protection against challenge with vv+/strains. Nonetheless, even serotype 1 vaccines have been shown to have reduced efficacy with time in some European and Asian countries. Because of the great economic impact of Marek's disease and the threat of more virulent MDV strains emerging, the search for more efficient vaccines continues. A major limitation in the development of more efficient vaccines, however, is the lack of information on mechanisms of vaccine immunity. One of the goals of my laboratory is to better understand the mechanisms of Marek's disease vaccine immunity to develop better strategies of control.

Diagnosis of tumor poultry diseases is complex. My laboratory has worked for several years to establish new diagnostic criteria and standardize the use of molecular techniques for the diagnosis of tumor viral diseases. Furthermore, we have developed real time PCR assays that allow early diagnosis and monitoring of vaccination in the field.

In addition to the development of lymphomas, Marek's disease virus induced a variety of neurological syndromes. The pathogenesis of MDV in the nervous system is not fully understood but it is very likely that Marek's disease virus elicit an abnormal immune response leading to the development of autoimmunity.

Publications

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Groups