Image Credit: Tabitha Koelzer
“We found a sign from one of the old labs that said the ‘Virology Laboratory’ and we’re putting that up as a nostalgia kick,” said Dr. Andrew Broadbent. On November 28, 2022, the Broadbent Lab hosted an open-house celebration to mark the official launch of the newly renovated ANSC lab, complete with virus-themed cupcakes, cookies, and paper cutouts.
Getting to this day has been a process spanning nearly two years. Pandemic-related delays in construction, materials, and specialized equipment made for an extended lab setup process. “We work with avian viruses that are of importance to the poultry industry, and some of which are of public health importance for people,” Dr. Broadbent explained as the core focus of the lab.
There are three main viruses the lab is working with. Infectious bursal disease virus, an immunosuppressive virus that can spread through commercial flocks, making them more susceptible to other diseases. Avian reovirus, which causes lameness and potentially respiratory disease in young chickens. Lastly, “the BIG one,” Dr. Broadbent said is avian influenza virus, a highly infectious virus that since early 2022 has led to the death of over 58 million birds in 47 states, either directly from infection, or culling because of potential exposure. Avian influenza can occasionally cross from birds to some other animals and even humans making it a public health concern, and is one cause of the cost of eggs more than doubling in 2022.
“We have projects where we’re looking at making vaccines better,” said Dr. Broadbent, explaining that they are working to identify which antigens to include in future vaccines to control these viruses better. “We’re also trying to understand more about the molecular biology of how these viruses replicate, so potentially we could come up with intervention strategies.”
Reverse genetic viruses form a central theme of the lab. Dr. Broadbent explained, “a lot of the expertise in my lab is in reverse genetics – that is where we can design and engineer viruses in the lab. That allows us to study what viral genes do, and also allows us to make new vaccine candidates.” By changing the genetic code in a virus, the team can better understand what specific mutations do, which can help develop more effective vaccines that target genetic weaknesses in these viruses or teach immune systems better to fight the virus.
Dr. Broadbent’s lab currently includes Dr. Sofia Egana-Labrin, a Postdoctoral Associate, who is focused on applied research to improve vaccines, and Andrew Brodrick, a PhD student, who is working on molecular virology with goals to better understand how viruses replicate in cells and cause disease. Dr. Broadbent also has three undergraduate students working on several projects involving organoids or primary cell cultures from birds.
Recently, they have been getting samples from the Maryland Department of Agriculture. In the coming months they will be analyzing the results and developing a more complete picture of what strains of viruses in poultry are circulating in the field by sequencing the virus strains, looking for mutations or any evidence of vaccines failing. Additionally, the lab has isolators in the animal facility that will enable running tests of their newly developed vaccine candidates in chickens in the future. “So, over the next few years, we would like to transition our culture-based in vitro work in the lab into animal studies.”
