Cara Brook, Ph.D.

Research

My lab is designing vaccines to immunize wild bats against viruses that can be transmitted to the human population. Bats are natural reservoirs for many zoonotic viruses—viruses that can “spillover” from wildlife to people. One approach to prevent these viruses from causing human pandemics is to render wild bats immune to infection. In studying wild fruit bats in Madagascar for the past decade, my work has identified several novel viruses with zoonotic potential. Using cutting-edge techniques in immunology, mathematical modeling, and population biology, we will explore how Madagascar bats develop natural immunity to these viruses and evaluate whether this immunity can be boosted by oral or intramuscular vaccines developed in my lab and by my collaborators. We will test the durability and potency of various vaccine constructs in a captive colony of Madagascar fruit bats, then trial their implementation in the wild. Our work could provide a new strategy for pandemic prevention by eradicating viruses via wildlife vaccination prior to human emergence.