Education

PhD, University of Kentucky, 2018

DVM, Universidad del Salvador (Argentina), 2012

Certifications

Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Microbiologists

Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists

Research Interest

The overarching focus of my research is to understand the pathogenesis and immunopathology of RNA viruses combining translational animal models and modern, molecular pathology techniques to comparatively study virus-host interactions during respiratory and persistent viral infections. Another area of research is the development and validation of molecular diagnostics for viral pathogens, and vaccines. Research focus includes: 1) Understanding host tropism/virulence determinants of SARS-CoV-2, its interactions with the host at the pulmonary level, and understanding at the cellular and molecular level how different comorbidities shape the outcome of COVID-19; 2) Dissecting host-virus interactions associated with equine arteritis virus persistence in the reproductive tract; 3) Developing vectored vaccines for rotavirus; 4) Developing and validating molecular diagnostics for viral pathogens and others.

Teaching Interest

My teaching interests include advanced veterinary anatomic pathology for pathology trainees in our Residency Program in Anatomic Pathology, general and systemic pathology and veterinary virology for DVM students, and advanced viral pathogenesis and virus-host interactions for graduate students. I am also interested in mentoring students in laboratory techniques.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ANATOMIC PATHOLOGY RESIDENCY PROGRAM

Clinical Interest

My clinical interest involves the development of immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization assays for infectious agents and tumor markers as well as development and validation of molecular diagnostics for viral diseases and other pathogens. I serve as the Histology and Immunohistochemistry section head and coordinate the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing program at LADDL, which is involved in surveillance of CWD in cervids in the state of Louisiana in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). Specific areas of interest include reproductive and respiratory pathology.

Awards & Honors

2023, LSU Alumni Rising Faculty Research Award, Louisiana State University

2023, Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence, Louisiana State University

2023, Dean’s Teacher Merit Honor Roll, Year II DVM students, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University

2022, Dean’s Teacher Merit Honor Roll, Year II and IV DVM students, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University

2020, Charles Louis Davis Foundation Pathology Trainee and Scholarship Award 

2016, American Society for Virology Travel Award

2013-2015, Fulbright Scholarship Program. Fulbright U.S. Student Program, U.S. Department of State

2012, Cum Laude, Universidad del Salvador (USAL), Escuela de Veterinaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Selected Publications (2019-2024)

Carossino, M., Dini, P., Kalbfleisch, T. S., Loynachan, A. T., Canisso, I. F., Cook, R. F., Timoney, P. J. and Balasuriya, U. B. R. Equine arteritis virus long-term persistence is orchestrated by CD8+ T lymphocyte transcription factors, inhibitory receptors, and the CXCL16/CXCR6 axis. PLoS Pathogens. 2019 Jul 29;15(7):e1007950

Carossino, M., Ip, H., Richt, J., Schultz, K., Harper, K., Loynachan, A. T., Del Piero, F., Balasuriya, U. B. R. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RNAscope® in situ Hybridization and Immunohistochemistry Techniques. Arch Virol. 2020 Oct;165(10):2373-2377. doi: 10.1007/s00705-020-04737-w.

Gaudreault, N., Trujilllo, J., Carossino, M., Meekins, D., Madden, D., Balaraman, V., Henningson, J., Morozov, I., Bold, D., Kwong, T., Roman-Sosa, G., Artiaga, B. L., Indran, S., Cool, K., García-Sastre, A., Ma, W., Wilson, W. C., Balasuriya, U. B. R. and Richt, J. A. SARS-CoV-2 infection, disease and transmission in domestic cats. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2020 Dec;9(1):2322-2332 doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2020.1833687

Sook Yuin Ho, J.; Wing-Yee Mok, B.; Campisi, L.; Jordan, T.; Yildiz, S.; Parameswaran, S.; Wayman, J. A.; Gaudreault, N. N.; Meekins, D. A.; Indran, S. V.; Morozov, I.; Trujillo, J. D.; Fstkchyan, Y. S.; Rathnasinghe, R.; Zhu, Z.; Zheng, S.; Zhao, N.; White, K.; Ray-Jones, H.; Malysheva, V.; Thiecke, M. J.; Lau, S.; Liu, H.; Zhang, A. J.; Chak-Yiu Lee, A.; Liu, W.; Aydillo-Gomez, T.; Guccione, E.; Melo, B. S.; Sebra, R.; Shum, E.; Bakker, J.; Kaufman, D. A.; Moreira, A.; Carossino, M.; Balasuriya, U. B. R.; Byun, M.; Miraldi, E. R.; Albrecht, R. A.; Schotsaert, M.; Garcia-Sastre, A.; Chanda, S. K.; Jeyasekharan, A. D.; TenOever, B. R.; Spivakov, M.; Weirauch, M. T.; Heinz, S.; Chen, H.; Benner, C.; Richt, J. A. and Marazzi, I. TOP1 inhibition therapy protects against SARS-CoV-2-induced lethal inflammation. Cell. 2021 Mar 30;S0092-8674(21)00382-2. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.051

Hall, J., Knowles, S., Nashold, S., Ip, H., Leon, A., Rocke, T., Carossino, M., Balasuriya, U. B. R., and Hofmeister, E. Experimental challenge of a North American bat species, big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), with SARS-CoV-2. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2021 Nov;68(6):3443-3452. doi: 10.1111/tbed.13949. Epub 2021 Jan 11.

Gaudreault, N., Carossino, M., Morozov, I., Trujilllo, J., Meekins, D., Madden, D., Cool, K., Artiaga, B. L., McDowell, C., Bold, D., Balaraman, V., Kwong, T., Ma, W., Henningson, J., Wilson, D. W., Wilson, W. C., Balasuriya, U. B. R., García-Sastre, A., and Richt, J. A. Experimental re-infected cats do not transmit SARS-CoV-2. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2021 Dec;10(1):638-650. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2021.1902753

Dini, P., Kalbfleisch, T., Uribe-Salazar, J. M., Carossino, M., El-Sheikh Ali, H., Loux, S., Esteller-Vico, A., Norris, J. K., Anand, L., Scoggin, K. E., Rodriguez Lopez, C. M., Breen, J., Bailey, E., Daels, P., and Ball, B. A. Parental bias in expression and interaction of genes in the equine placenta. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2021 Apr 20;118(16):e2006474118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2006474118

Cool K, Gaudreault NN, Morozov I, Trujillo JD, Meekins DA, McDowell C, Carossino M, Bold D, Mitzel D, Kwon T, Balaraman V, Madden DW, Artiaga BL, Pogranichniy RM, Roman-Sosa G, Henningson J, Wilson WC, Balasuriya UBR, García-Sastre A, Richt JA. Infection and transmission of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and its alpha variant in pregnant white-tailed deer. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2022 Dec;11(1):95-112. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2021.2012528.

Pavulraj S, Pannhorst K, Stout RW, Paulsen DB, Carossino M, Meyer D, Becher P, Chowdhury SI. A Triple Gene-Deleted Pseudorabies Virus-Vectored Subunit PCV2b and CSFV Vaccine Protects Pigs against PCV2b Challenge and Induces Serum Neutralizing Antibody Response against CSFV. Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Feb 16;10(2):305. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10020305

Carossino M, Kenney D, O'Connell AK, Montanaro P, Tseng AE, Gertje HP, Grosz KA, Ericsson M, Huber BR, Kurnick SA, Subramaniam S, Kirkland TA, Walker JR, Francis KP, Klose AD, Paragas N, Bosmann M, Saeed M, Balasuriya UBR, Douam F, Crossland NA. Fatal Neurodissemination and SARS-CoV-2 Tropism in K18-hACE2 Mice Is Only Partially Dependent on hACE2 Expression. Viruses. 2022 Mar 5;14(3):535. doi: 10.3390/v14030535.

Carossino M*, Nevarez JG, Sakaguchi K, Paulsen DB, Langohr IM, Strother K, Ferracone J, Roy A, Crossland NA, Del Piero F. An outbreak of systemic chlamydiosis in farmed American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). Vet Pathol. 2022 Sep;59(5):860-868. doi: 10.1177/03009858221095269. Epub 2022 May 3.

Thieulent CJ, Carossino M, Balasuriya UBR, Graves K, Bailey E, Eberth J, Canisso IF, Andrews FM, Keowen ML, Go YY. Development of a TaqMan® Allelic Discrimination

qPCR Assay for Rapid Detection of Equine CXCL16 Allelic Variants Associated With the Establishment of Long-Term Equine Arteritis Virus Carrier State in Stallions. Front Genet. 2022 Apr 13;13:871875. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.871875.

Carossino, M*; Del Piero, F.; Lee, J.; Needle, D.B.; Levine, J.M.; Riis, R.R.; Maes, R.; Wise, A.G.; Mullaney, K.; Ferracone, J.; Langohr, I.M. Relationship between Uveal Inflammation and Viral Detection in 30 Cats with Feline Infectious Peritonitis. Pathogens 2022, 11, 883. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11080883

Carossino M*, Balasuriya UBR, Thieulent CJ, Barrandeguy ME, Vissani MA, Parreño V. Quadruplex Real-Time TaqMan® RT-qPCR Assay for Differentiation of Equine Group A and B Rotaviruses and Identification of Group A G3 and G14 Genotypes. Viruses. 2023 Jul 26;15(8):1626. doi: 10.3390/v15081626. PMID: 37631969; PMCID: PMC10459720.

Thieulent CJ, Dittmar W, Balasuriya UBR, Crossland NA, Wen X, Richt JA, Carossino M*. Mouse-Adapted SARS-CoV-2 MA10 Strain Displays Differential Pulmonary Tropism and Accelerated Viral Replication, Neurodissemination, and Pulmonary Host Responses in K18-hACE2 Mice. mSphere. 2023 Feb 21;8(1):e0055822. doi: 10.1128/msphere.00558-22. Epub 2023 Feb 2.

Tseng AE, Carossino M, Gertje HP, O'Connell AK, Gummuluru S, Kolachalama VB, Balasuriya UBR, Connor JH, Bennett RS, Liu DX, Hensley LE, Crossland NA. Hepatic proinflammatory myeloid phenotypes are a hallmark of Ebola virus Kikwit pathogenesis in rhesus monkeys. Vet Pathol. 2023 May 12:3009858231171906. doi: 10.1177/03009858231171906. Epub ahead of print.

Falconnier, N, Warshaw, M, Wellehan, J, Childress, A, Howe, DK, Taylor, H, Langohr, IM, Ard, M, Paulsen, D, Sasaki, E, Mitchell, MS, Carossino, M*. Systemic Caryospora-like Coccidiosis in a Clutch of Hatchling Red-eared Slider Turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans). Vet Pathol, 2023 Jun 12;3009858231179129. doi: 10.1177/03009858231179129. Online ahead of print ***Selected as Cover Page

Carossino M*, Izadmehr S, Trujillo JD, Gaudreault NN, Dittmar W, Morozov I, Balasuriya UBR, Cordon-Cardo C, García-Sastre A, Richt JA. ACE2 and TMPRSS2 distribution in the respiratory tract of different animal species and its correlation with SARS-CoV-2 tissue tropism. Microbiol Spectr. 2024 Jan 17:e0327023. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.03270-23. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38230954.

Carossino, M*; Vissani, M.A.; Barrandeguy, M.E.; Balasuriya, U.B.R.; Parreño, V. Equine Rotavirus A under the One Health Lens: Potential Impacts on Public Health. Viruses 2024, 16, 130. https://doi.org/10.3390/v16010130

Cool K, Gaudreault NN, Trujillo JD, Morozov I, McDowell CD, Bold D, Kwon T, Balaraman V, Assato P, Madden DW, Mantlo E, Souza-Neto J, Matias-Ferreyra F, Retallick J, Singh G, Schotsaert M, Carossino M, Balasuriya UBR, Wilson WC,

Pogranichniy RM, García-Sastre A, Richt JA. Experimental co-infection of calves with SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants of concern. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2024 Dec;13(1):2281356. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2023.2281356. Epub 2023 Dec 30. PMID: 37938158; PMCID: PMC10763854.70.

MYNCBI BIBLIOGRAPHY

GOOGLE SCHOLAR CITATIONS

Grant Funding

USDA-NIFA/APHIS (NIFA 2023-70432-39465), A1221 Diseases of Agricultural Animals. PARTNERSHIP: Virus Replication Kinetics and Risk of Spillback of North American Cervid-adapted SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Deer and Wildlife. Agency: USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Mariano Carossino (PI); Award Period: 2023-2026. Total Award: $799,391

COBRE Center for Lung Biology and Disease (CLBD) Full Research Project Grant 2022. The role of adipocyte-driven inflammation and leptin pathway in pulmonary viral infections caused by SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A viruses. Agency: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), National Institutes of Health (NIH) – Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE). P20GM130555-5011. Mariano Carossino (subproject PI); Award Period: 2023-2026. Total Award: $524,957

Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation. Development of a vectored vaccine to equine rotavirus A. Agency: Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation, Inc. Mariano Carossino (PI). Award Period: 2022-2024. Award Total: $143,505

USDA-NIFA Award Number 2019-67016-29102: Dual Purpose with Dual Benefit: Research in Biomedicine and Agriculture Using Agriculturally Important Domestic Animal Species. A novel mechanism of viral immune evasion: Hijacking and exploitation of the CXCL16/CXCR6 chemokine axis by EAV during persistent infection in the stallion reproductive tract. Agency: USDA-NIFA. Team: Udeni B. R. Balasuriya (PI), Mariano Carossino (Co-PI), et al. Award Period: 2019-2024. Total Award: $1,625,000

NAHLN Level I Cooperative Agreement 2023. APP-32352. Agency: USDA National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN). Udeni B. R. Balasuriya (PI), Mariano Carossino (Co-PI), Alma Roy (Co-PI). Award period: June 1 2023-May 31 2024. Total Award: $137,870

R21AI166898 NIH NIAID. Programming designer DNA nanostructures for blocking enveloped viral infection. Agency: National Institutes of Health (NIH). Team: Weishan Huang (PI), Xing Wang (subaward PI), Mariano Carossino (Co-PI). Award period: July 2023 – June 2025. Total award: $431,298

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing. Agency: Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Udeni Balasuriya, Mariano Carossino. Award Period: 2019-2024. Total Award: $349,841.

Charles V. Cusimano EHSP 2023-2024 Grant Proposals. Rapid detection of latent equine respiratory herpesviruses in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and peripheral tissues by multiplex one-step RT-qPCR assays. Team: Balasuriya, U (PI), Thieulent, C (Co-PI), Carossino, M (Co-PI). Award Period: July 1 2023 – June 30 2024. Total Award: $12,000