About

Sarah Ho is the CVM Director of Student Engagement at the College of Veterinary Medicine at NC State University. Her role involves fostering student development and engagement within the college community. The page highlights her contact information and her position, but does not provide specific details about her research focus, background, or key contributions.

Research topics

• Immunology
• Biology
• Virology
• Cancer research
• Medicine
• Molecular biology
• Genetics

Selected publications

• Applied immunology

  AASV Annual Meeting · 2026-02-15

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Route of Adenovirus Type 5-Vectored Influenza Vaccination Shapes Systemic and Mucosal Immunity in a Maternal-Neonatal Pig Model

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-03-13

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Influenza A virus can cause severe complications in pregnant women and infants, yet no influenza vaccines are approved for infants younger than six months. To address this, novel maternal vaccination strategies are needed to increase global access and coverage in these vulnerable populations. This study evaluated a hemagglutinin (HA) A/California/2009 (H1N1)-based human adenovirus 5 (huAd5) vector vaccine, adjuvanted with a TLR3 agonist, for its ability to induce influenza-specific passive immunity from pregnant and lactating pigs to their piglets following different immunization routes. Influenza naïve pregnant dams were vaccinated via oral, intranasal (IN), or intramuscular (IM) routes three weeks prepartum and boosted four weeks later. Serum, colostrum and milk samples were collected longitudinally to assess HA-specific antibody induced by vaccination. H1N1-Ca/09 neutralizing antibodies were evaluated in serum and IFNγ producing cells were assessed in blood, spleen and lymph node cells. IN and IM routes elicited robust serum HA-specific antibody responses when compared to control animals at one- and four-weeks post-boost, whereas the oral route resulted in poor antibody induction across all samples tested. Piglets nursing from IN and IM vaccinated dams showed a significantly higher level of HA-specific antibodies in serum at 2-3 weeks post-partum compared to control piglets. Notably, IN immunized dams and their piglets showed significantly elevated influenza neutralizing antibodies compared to controls. This work demonstrated that both IN and IM immunization with a huAd5-vectored vaccine robustly induced maternal influenza-specific immunity that supported passive transfer to nursing piglets, with IN immunization resulting in superior transfer of neutralizing antibodies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evaluation of vehicle decontamination procedures in mitigating transmission of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus

  AASV Annual Meeting · 2026-02-15

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Case Report: The effect of asplenia on the response to influenza vaccination and passive transfer of immunity in an adult female pig

  Frontiers in Immunology · 2025-04-28

  articleOpen access1st author

  Asplenia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in humans. However, there are only very rare examples of this condition reported in domesticated species. Here we present a case of asplenia, diagnosed at necropsy, in a crossbred adult female pig from an influenza vaccine study. The humoral antibody response, including immune response to an influenza A virus vaccine, was characterized and compared to a parity-matched pig from the same study. The antibody profiles, lower total IgM with similar levels of IgG, were remarkably similar to those described in human patients with asplenia. However, in response to vaccination, the asplenic pig showed a robust hemagglutinin-specific IgM response with lower levels of IgG and IgA. These results were mirrored in the passively transferred antibody profiles of the asplenic dam's piglets. This constitutes the first case of congenital asplenia described in the pig.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Review 1: "Evaluation of the Contribution of the Minor Envelope Complex Glycoprotein 3 to the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus 1 Neutralizing Antibody Response"

  2025-10-24

  peer-reviewOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• T cell-mediated clearance of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) from the lung characterized by machine learning analysis in vaccinated and unvaccinated pigs

  Research Square · 2025-04-30

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Reviews of "Evaluation of the Contribution of the Minor Envelope Complex Glycoprotein 3 to the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus 1 Neutralizing Antibody Response"

  2025-10-24

  peer-reviewOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Porcine astrovirus 4 and respiratory disease

  2024-02-11

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Vaccine immunology and expectations

  AASV Annual Meeting · 2024-02-11

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Characterization of neurologic disease-associated <i>Streptococcus suis</i> strains within the United States swine herd and use of diagnostic tools

  Journal of Clinical Microbiology · 2024-10-08 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Streptococcus suis negatively impacts swine health, posing diagnostic and preventative challenges. S. suis can induce disease and also quietly reside on mucosal surfaces. The limited use of diagnostic tools to identify disease-associated strains and rule out differential diagnoses, alongside the complex ecology of S. suis , poses significant challenges in comprehending this important pathogen and defining pathotypes. This study evaluated 2,379 S . suis central nervous system (CNS) isolates from diagnostic submissions between 2015 and 2019. Isolates originating from submissions with histologic evidence of CNS infection ( n = 1,032) were further characterized by standard and advanced diagnostic techniques. We identified 29 S . suis serotypes and 4 reclassified serotypes as putative causes of CNS disease. Among these, serotypes 1 and 7 emerged as the predominant putative causes of CNS infection (32% of submissions). Furthermore, 51 sequence types (STs), of which 15 were novel, were detected with ST1 predominating. Through whole-genome sequencing of 145 isolates, we observed that five commonly used virulence-associated genes (VAGs; epf , mrp , sly , ofs , and srtF ) were not present in most disease-associated isolates, and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) yielded false-positive results in 7% of isolates. These data indicate that (i) clinical signs and site of isolation alone are insufficient for defining a pathotype, (ii) S. suis serotypes and STs associated with CNS infection are more diverse than previously reported, (iii) MALDI-TOF MS may need to be supplemented with additional diagnostic tools for precise S. suis identification, and (iv) VAGs remain an unreliable means for identifying isolates associated with CNS disease. IMPORTANCE Streptococcus suis is an important and complex systemic bacterial pathogen of swine. Characterization of S. suis strains originating from pigs with histologic confirmation of neurologic disease is limited. Review of swine diagnostic submissions revealed that fewer than half of cases from which S. suis was isolated from the brain had histologic evidence of neurologic disease. This finding demonstrates that clinical signs and site of isolation alone are not sufficient for identifying a neurologic disease-associated strain. Characterization of strains originating from cases with evidence of disease using classic and advanced diagnostic techniques revealed that neurologic disease-associated strains are diverse and commonly lack genes previously associated with virulence.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Michael P. Murtaugh

  Walker (United States)

  8 shared

• Panchan Sitthicharoenchai

  5 shared

• Rachel J. Derscheid

  Iowa State University

  3 shared

• Christopher Siepker

  Iowa State University

  3 shared

• Barry Wiseman

  2 shared

• Jennifer Groeltz-Thrush

  Iowa State University

  2 shared

• Phillip C. Gauger

  Iowa State University

  2 shared

• Michael P. Murtaugh

  Iowa State University

  2 shared