Research

Below is a summary of our current research interests, but work in the McDermott lab is by no means limited to these areas.

Prospective students and postdocs interested in working in any areas related to veterinary entomology (including livestock, poultry, companion animal, and wildlife), vector biology, vector-pathogen interactions, and zoonotic disease are encouraged to contact Dr. McDermott to discuss their research interests.

Hemorrhagic disease transmission

Bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) cause clinically indistinguishable symptoms in domestic (cattle, sheep) and wild (deer) ruminants, known collectively as hemorrhagic disease (HD). Both viruses are transmitted to susceptible animals by Culicoides biting midges. We are interested in the epidemiology of HD in Arkansas, including which Culicoides species are involved as vectors, the roles of wildlife and livestock in pathogen maintenance, and the prevalence of BTV and EHDV in the state.

Culicoides biting midge ecology and control

Culicoides biting midges are small, blood feeding flies that are both nuisance pests and disease vectors. Vector species are typically associated with livestock and develop in moist organic substrates such as standing water enriched with manure, but the life history of most species is unknown. We study the ecology of Culicoides species in Arkansas in order to develop new control tools and recommendations for protecting livestock.

Emerging threats

Invasive species and introduced pathogens can be potentially devastating to livestock. One such example is the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis), which was first reported in Arkansas in 2018. This species is capable of exsanguinating calves and is known to transmit several human and livestock pathogens in its native range, including Babesia and Theileria. We are interested in understanding the role of wildlife in the movement of ticks between farms, and in the role of H. longicornis as a potential vector of livestock disease in Arkansas.

Remote Emerging Infectious Disease Intelligence Network (REDI-NET)

The McDermott Lab serves as a Gold Laboratory for the REDI-NET program, a collaboration with the US Department of Defense led the the University of Notre Dame. REDI-NET addresses surveillance needs to Detect, Predict, and Contain potentially emergent zoonoses of human health relevance for Force Health Protection. As a Gold Laboratory, we provide expertise on collecting arthropods and biological samples from livestock hosts for pathogen detection using a metagenomic sequencing approach.

Additional details on the REDI-NET program can be found here:
https://redi-net.nd.edu/