Tanya LeRoith

About

Tanya LeRoith, DVM, PhD, MBA, DACVP, is a clinical professor and director at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. She serves as the Director of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and the Director of Virginia Tech Animal Laboratory Services (ViTALS). Her research interests include animal models of infectious disease, viral immunology, and comparative pathology. Dr. LeRoith has a comprehensive background in microbiology, pathology, and veterinary medicine, with her education including a BS in Animal Science from the University of Maryland, a DVM from Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, a PhD in Microbiology/Pathology from Washington State University, and an MBA from Radford University. She is board-certified by the American College of Veterinary Pathologists in Anatomic Pathology. Her professional experience spans from graduate training to faculty roles, culminating in her current leadership positions. Her contributions include advancing veterinary clinical services and research at Virginia Tech, with a focus on infectious diseases and pathology.

Research topics

• Biology
• Virology
• Medicine
• Immunology
• Internal medicine

Selected publications

• Hepatitis E virus infects brain microvascular endothelial cells, crosses the blood–brain barrier, and invades the central nervous system

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2022-06-07 · 46 citations

  articleOpen access

  Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important but understudied zoonotic virus causing both acute and chronic viral hepatitis. A proportion of HEV-infected individuals also developed neurological diseases such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, neuralgic amyotrophy, encephalitis, and myelitis, although the mechanism remains unknown. In this study, by using an in vitro blood-brain barrier (BBB) model, we first investigated whether HEV can cross the BBB and whether the quasi-enveloped HEV virions are more permi…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Killed whole-genome reduced-bacteria surface-expressed coronavirus fusion peptide vaccines protect against disease in a porcine model

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2021-04-15 · 32 citations

  articleOpen access

  to express SARS-CoV-2 and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) fusion peptide (FP) on the cell surface, and evaluated their use as killed whole-cell vaccines. The FP sequence is highly conserved across coronaviruses; the six FP core amino acid residues, along with the four adjacent residues upstream and the three residues downstream from the core, are identical between SARS-CoV-2 and PEDV. We tested the efficacy of PEDV FP and SARS-CoV-2 FP vaccines in a PEDV challenge pig model. We demonstrat…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Canine melanoma: A review of diagnostics and comparative mechanisms of disease and immunotolerance in the era of the immunotherapies

  Frontiers in Veterinary Science · 2023-01-06 · 31 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Melanomas in humans and dogs are highly malignant and resistant to therapy. Since the first development of immunotherapies, interest in how the immune system interacts within the tumor microenvironment and plays a role in tumor development, progression, or remission has increased. Of major importance are tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) where distribution and cell frequencies correlate with survival and therapeutic outcomes. Additionally, efforts have been made to identify subsets of TILs p…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Human Milk Oligosaccharides Impact Cellular and Inflammatory Gene Expression and Immune Response

  Frontiers in Immunology · 2022-06-29 · 31 citations

  articleOpen access

  Human milk harbors complex carbohydrates, including human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), the third most abundant component after lactose and lipids. HMOs have been shown to impact intestinal microbiota, modulate the intestinal immune response, and prevent pathogenic bacterial binding by serving as decoy receptors. However, the direct effect of HMOs on intestinal function and immunity remains to be elucidated. To address this knowledge gap, 21-day-old germ-free mice (C57BI/6) were orally gavaged w…

  PublisherDOI

• An FcRn-targeted mucosal vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission

  Nature Communications · 2023-11-06 · 26 citations

  articleOpen access

  SARS-CoV-2 is primarily transmitted through droplets and airborne aerosols, and in order to prevent infection and reduce viral spread vaccines should elicit protective immunity in the airways. The neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) transfers IgG across epithelial barriers and can enhance mucosal delivery of antigens. Here we explore FcRn-mediated respiratory delivery of SARS-CoV-2 spike (S). A monomeric IgG Fc was fused to a stabilized spike; the resulting S-Fc bound to S-specific antibodies and FcRn.…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant K08AI051391

  NIH · $233k · 2006

Frequent coauthors

• Xiang‐Jin Meng

  China Medical University

  81 shared

• C. Lynn Heffron

  Virginia Tech

  52 shared

• Debin Tian

  Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

  39 shared

• James Weger‐Lucarelli

  Virginia Tech

  36 shared

• Thomas E. Cecere

  Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

  35 shared

• Harini Sooryanarain

  Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

  32 shared

• Danielle M. Yugo

  Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

  28 shared

• F. William Pierson

  Virginia Tech

  27 shared

Awards & honors

• 2006 — AdvanceVT Seed Grant Recipient
• 2005 — Harriet B. Rigas Award for Outstanding Woman in Gradu…
• 2004 — Charles L. Davis Foundation Student Scholarship Award
• 2002-2005 — NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Developmental Aw…
• 2000-2002 — Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS…

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