Theresa Casey
· Professor of Cell and Molecular BiologyVerifiedPurdue University · Animal Sciences
Active 1969–2026
Research topics
- Medicine
- Biology
- Animal science
- Endocrinology
- Virology
- Sociology
- Genetics
- Political Science
- Internal medicine
- Chemistry
- Nursing
- Physiology
- Medical emergency
- Biochemistry
- Public relations
- Environmental health
- Law
- Andrology
- Geography
- Political economy
- Food science
- Demography
Selected publications
PubMed · 2026-01-26
articleOpen accessWhile female U.S. Air Force and Space Force basic military trainees are screened universally for gonorrhea and chlamydia, male basic trainees are tested only when symptomatic or upon patient request. Epidemiology and follow-up testing of male basic trainees who test positive for gonorrhea or chlamydia in training is unclear. All active duty male basic trainees at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland who tested positive for gonorrhea or chlamydia from 2017 through 2023 (50 of 182,726 total male trainees, 0.03%) were matched, 1-to-1, by age and accession date, with active duty female basic trainees who tested positive for the same pathogen. Medical records from military hospitals and clinics were reviewed for follow-up testing within 12 months of the initial positive test and subsequent diagnoses for chlamydia and gonorrhea up to 3 years afterwards, or July 1, 2024, whichever occurred first. Among 50 male basic trainees, 30 (60%) reported symptoms when presenting for testing. Most cases (86%) were due to chlamydia. Only 56% (n=28) of male trainees had follow-up testing within 1 year, compared to 76% (n=38) of matched female basic trainees (OR 0.4, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.95). Low screening for chlamydia and gonorrhea among male basic trainees may contribute to reduced follow-up testing and represents a missed opportunity to identify infections, prevent transmission, and reduce the burden of infection in this population. Male basic military trainees who tested positive for gonorrhea or chlamydia had follow-up testing rates significantly below guideline recommendations. Rates of future infections among male basic trainees were not, however, statistically lower than female trainee rates of future infections.
Military Medicine · 2026-04-17
articleINTRODUCTION: The bacteria, Neisseria meningitidis, is a frequent colonizer of the oropharynx, but can also lead to invasive disease with encapsulated strains. All military services currently use a quadrivalent polysaccharide vaccine against serogroups A, C, W, and Y to prevent outbreaks among trainees. With the introduction of novel vaccines against serogroup B, this study evaluated the current carriage of N. meningitidis among military trainees. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between June and August 2024, a sample of 909 military trainees received oropharyngeal sampling at the time of beginning basic military training before universal vaccination and penicillin administration. All isolates were serogrouped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and whole genome sequencing. This study was reviewed by the Lackland Institutional Review Board and determined to be occupational surveillance and not human research. RESULTS: Thirty-five (3.9%) trainees had carriage of N. meningitidis. While the PCR suggested, 11 (31%) isolates were encapsulated with Serogroup B, to be the most common colonizing isolate (n = 8, 22%). However, when characterized by whole genome sequencing, only one isolate, expressing serogroup C, was predicted to have a functional capsule. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate the continued threat of N. meningitidis in military training populations and the need for whole genome sequencing in characterizing colonizing isolates and the determination of vaccination policies. Furthermore, these data support the current policy of quadrivalent vaccination in the military training population.
PLoS ONE · 2026-04-10
articleOpen accessSenior authorMaternal metabolic environment creates the developmental environment for offspring. Previous studies demonstrated high fat (HF) diet increased neonate growth rate during lactation, which related to increased milk lactose content and increased fatty acyl chain length and unsaturation of milk lipids. To understand how HF diet alters maternal metabolism, we measured liver and mammary gland global protein abundance and fractional synthetic rate (FSR) of peak lactation mice after enriching body water with deuterium oxide for 24 h. In both tissues, HF altered abundance of proteins that reflected less dependence on glycolysis and a greater dependence on fatty acid degradation for energy production. Alterations in fatty acid profiles of milk due to HF diet linked to decreased abundance of enzymes that mediate de novo fatty acid synthesis and mono-unsaturation, and increased abundance of enzymes that function in the elongation and desaturation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In the liver, HF diet increased ketogenic and gluconeogenic enzymes, indicating higher production of ketones and glucose, the former potentially linked to reduction in mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) abundance and the latter potentially explaining increased milk lactose content. The higher abundance of ribosomal proteins in the mammary gland of HF mice may promote greater milk production capacity and thus partly explain greater growth rate of offspring. Among proteins with significantly different FSR, HF diet decreased FSR of ~82% of the proteins in liver and ~80% in mammary. These findings enhance understanding of the impacts of diets on maternal metabolism and milk production during lactation, and expand the general understanding of how HF diet impacts metabolic pathways and proteostatic processes.
Translational Animal Science · 2026-01-01
articleOpen accessSenior authorAbstract This study aimed to characterize changes in small metabolites in sow milk over the course of lactation. The impact of Moringa oleifera leaf powder addition to diet and electronic cooling pads (ECP) on milk metabolites of sow under moderate heat stress was also evaluated. A 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted with Yorkshire x Landrace sows (n = 48) from gestation day 100 to lactation day 21. Treatments included heat stress + control diet (HS + CS), heat stress + Moringa (HS + M), ECP + CS, and ECP + M beginning with 12 sows per treatment. Milk was collected on lactation days 0 (D0, colostrum), 3 (D3, transitional milk), and 14 (D14, mature milk). Metabolites were extracted using the Bligh and Dyer method and then profiled using exploratory multiple reaction monitoring. Milk metabolite content varied significantly across lactation days. Diet and parity influenced milk metabolites on D0, ECP on D3, and parity on D14. The 55 metabolites increased between D0 and D3, linked to phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, starch, sucrose and galactose metabolism, while the 93 decreased metabolites were associated with protein synthesis and gut development, including phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis and alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism. Between D3 and D14, 148 metabolites increased and reflected alanine, aspartate and glutamate and galactose metabolism, while the 21 decreased included L-leucine, creatine, myo-inositol, hypoxanthine and acetyl-carnitine. The 116 metabolites impacted by parity in D0 samples, were elevated in primiparous compared to multiparous sows, and linked to arginine biosynthesis, amino acid metabolism, and purine metabolism. On D14, parity affected 52 metabolites related to alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, arginine biosynthesis and pyrimidine metabolism. ECP on D3 reduced 104 metabolites involved in the citrate acid cycle, cysteine and methionine metabolism, and pyrimidine metabolism. Milk metabolite content changed significantly between the three phases of milk production, reflecting mammary secretory activity and potentially the changing nutritional needs of piglets and maternal physiological adjustments throughout lactation. These findings highlight the dynamic nature of milk composition and the potential for dietary and environmental interventions to modulate milk metabolite content under heat stress conditions.
Open Forum Infectious Diseases · 2026-01-01
articleOpen accessAbstract Background N. meningitidis is a gram-negative pathogen that is part of normal oropharyngeal flora, but can also cause meningitis outbreaks in susceptible populations, especially when encapsulated. The United States military vaccinates all entering trainees with a quadrivalent vaccine against serogroups A, C, W, and Y, but does not currently vaccinate against serogroup B. This study identified the predominant meningococcal serogroups (A, B, C, W, X, Y) in trainees upon arrival to BMT. Methods Between June-August 2024, a convenience sample of 909 trainees received oropharyngeal swabs before meningococcal vaccination or penicillin prophylaxis. Swabs were cultured and subsequently serogrouped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as well as whole genome sequencing. For those that were PCR positive for serogroup B, the Meningococcal Antigen Typing System was used to determine coverage by the MenB-4C vaccines. Results Of the 909 samples collected, 35 (3.9%) trainees were found to have oropharyngeal carriage of N. meningitidis and 4 (0.4%) were found to have oral infection with N. gonorrhoeae. Of the N. meningitidis isolated, 11 (31%) were able to be classified by serogroup by PCR with serogroup B accounting for the majority (72.7%) of groupable isolates. By whole genome sequencing, all N. meningitidis strains were found to be non-groupable, except for one isolate in serogroup C. The FDA approved serogroup B vaccine targets sub-capsular proteins, and not the capsule itself. Sequencing predicts that six (75%) of the serogroup B PCR positive samples would be targeted by the MenB-4C vaccine, with one being unpredictable, and one not covered. Conclusion The vast majority of oropharyngeal isolates of N. meningitidis in a convenience sample of military trainees were non-groupable by whole genome sequencing despite having components of the capsule genes that are detectable by PCR. This data supports current practices of not vaccinating military trainees for serogroup B meningococcus. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures
2025-06-10
peer-reviewJournal of Dairy Science · 2025-10-23
erratumOpen accessResearch Square · 2025-04-02
preprintOpen accessJournal of Animal Science · 2025-10-01
articleOpen accessAbstract Monensin, tylosin, and chlortetracycline (CTC) are commonly used antimicrobials in high-grain feedlot cattle diets to promote growth. However, growing concerns regarding antibiotic resistance highlight the need for alternative strategies. A more mechanistic understanding of how antimicrobial drugs affect metabolites in the ruminant gastrointestinal tract (GIT) may help develop effective alternatives. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how antimicrobial drugs influence the bile acid (BA) and lipidome profile in the ruminant gastrointestinal tract. Thirty steers (355 ± 16.8 kg) were individually housed during the finishing phase, fed a 93% concentrate diet for 148 days and supplemented with one of three dietary antibiotic treatments starting on day 0 (10/treatment): 1) control, without antibiotics, 2) 75 mg of tylosin and 200 mg of monensin, and 3) 70 mg of CTC per head per day. At slaughter, samples were obtained from the rumen, jejunum, cecum, and feces. Bile acids were extracted from samples with a solid-phase extraction (SPE) protocol and then analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Lipids were extracted by the Bligh & Dyer protocol and then screened by mass spectrometry. Data were analyzed using SAS PROC GLIMMIX and Principal Component Analysis in MetaboAnalyst 6.0. The bile acid profile differed across all locations (P < 0.05). In the jejunum, the total concentration of conjugated primary BA was greater (P = 0.04) in steers fed Tylosin plus Monensin (T+M) compared to CTC or control, while the total concentration of secondary deconjugated BA did not differ among treatments (P = 0.91). Taurolithocholic and Glycoursodeoxycholic acid were greater (P < 0.05) in the T+M group compared to CTC and control in the jejunum. In the cecum, the concentrations of Taurocholic and Taurochenodeoxycholic acid were increased (P < 0.05) in steers fed T+M compared to CTC and control. Fecal BA concentration did not differ for total or individual bile acids (P ≥ 0.210). Lipidomic profiles differed (P < 0.05) across all sampled locations. In jejunum and feces, both antibiotic treatments had a different lipid profile compared to the control (P < 0.05). In the rumen, lipid profiles from T+M steers differed from CTC and control (P < 0.05). Lipid profiles from the cecum of CTC and T+M treated steers tended to differ from the control steers (P < 0.10). In conclusion, T+M decreased the microbial modification of primary conjugated BA to secondary deconjugated BA in the jejunum, with BA modifications noted in the cecum but no differences in feces. Lipidomic profiles were also affected by antibiotic treatments across the gastrointestinal tract highlighting their impact on nutrient metabolism.
Animal - science proceedings · 2025-08-01
article
Recent grants
NIH · $92k · 2011
Frequent coauthors
- 65 shared
Karen Plaut
Purdue University West Lafayette
- 33 shared
Joseph E Marcus
Joint Base San Antonio
- 32 shared
Heather C. Yun
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
- 28 shared
Aridany Suárez-Trujillo
Berry College
- 23 shared
Kara R Stewart
Purdue University System
- 16 shared
Linda M. Beckett
Purdue University West Lafayette
- 16 shared
John Kieffer
Joint Base San Antonio
- 15 shared
Kelsey Teeple
Purdue University West Lafayette
Education
- 1998
PhD, Cellular and Molecular Biology
University of Vermont
- 1994
MS, Animal Science
University of Vermont
- 1990
BS, Biology
University of Connecticut
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