Sheep Industry News September 2024

Teddleton Wins Sheep Heritage Scholarship H annah Teddleton became the second straight West Vir ginia University graduate to receive the Sheep Heritage Foundation Scholarship when she was selected by a

yet deadly killer of ruminants, causing significant economic loss. Anthelmintic overuse has led to resistance against all known drug classes. With no new chemotherapeutics, alternative methods of controlling H contortus are essential,” Teddleton wrote in her ap plication for the scholarship. “Sheep generally respond to H con tortus infection with a T helper type-2 (Th2) immune response, and the timing of that response is critical to worm expulsion. Parasite-resistant St. Croix sheep produce an early Th2 response in the abomasum during the first seven days of infection preventing larval establishment, while parasite-susceptible Suffolk sheep have delayed responses, contributing to increased worm burdens and subsequent losses. “My research aims to understand early immune signaling, which is influenced by non-immune cells in the abomasum, and thus elucidate mechanisms of parasite resistance. Specialized epithelial tuft cells have been proposed to ‘sense’ parasites, which may account for differences between responses in resistant and susceptible animals. However, this cell type has not been fully characterized in an ovine model, nor have these pathways been defined in parasite-resistant sheep. By investigating resistance mechanisms involved in early immunological recognition, we will be able to identify genetic markers and pathways leading to overall improved animal health. While a ‘marker’ in what drives immu nity is largely unknown, identification of the epithelial microenvi ronment of parasite resistant sheep may allow us to develop tools for better management through genetics, and advance treatments for susceptible animals by modulating the immune system.” Teddleton expects to complete her Ph.D. in the spring of 2027. “Hannah is a natural in the lab and working with sheep. Within the first few months of her arrival, she was awarded a grant from the National Center for Veterinary Parasitology that supported her work in identifying breed differences in neutrophil migration to parasitic antigen,” wrote WVU’s Scott Bowdridge, Ph.D., in a letter of recommendation for Teddleton. “To conduct this work, Hannah had to build and validate an assay from scratch. Not only did she do that, but was able to identify specific components of cells that are being blocked by the parasite in Suffolk sheep. This information is a piece that was lacking and may contribute to the development of potential novel therapeutics to better manage parasitism in sheep. “Hannah has presented her work at three scientific meetings and was awarded a travel grant to attend and present data at the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists meeting. Han nah also has hopes of returning to academia after a postdoctoral fellowship and I'm hopeful we can keep her discovering immune responses in sheep. In summary, I feel that Hannah is a great can didate for this award and fully support her application.”

review committee. The $3,000 scholarship is administered by ASI, and an extreme ly competitive field of more than 20 applicants made for a difficult selection process this year. Teddleton follows in the footsteps of former WVU lab part ner Kelsey Bentley, who won the scholarship a year ago and was recently appointed as an assistant professor for sustainable small ruminant production at Kansas State University.

“She was one of the first people I called when I found out,” said Teddleton, who started her journey in higher education studying sheep nutrition and immunity at Chico State University in her home state of California. “We worked pretty closely together in West Virginia.” Teddleton has moved on, as well. After completing her master’s degree at WVU, she’s now pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee – a school that isn’t exactly known for sheep research. “Tennessee offers me the chance to really build a sheep pro gram at the university and to bring a focus on the sheep industry to the school,” said Teddleton, who will work under the guidance of Elizabeth Shepherd, Ph.D., as she pursues her doctoral degree. Teddleton’s research – both past and present – is focused on sheep immune systems while specifically looking at the differences between the parasite-resistant St. Croix and parasite-susceptible Suffolk breeds. “Gastrointestinal nematode Haemonchus contortus is a silent

8 • Sheep Industry News • sheepusa.org