Vaccines as drivers of disease emergence:transmission ecology and virulence evolution in Marek's disease

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Our overall aim is to dissect the selective forces imposed by immunization on MDV virulence. We ask: Can some types of vaccination allow the emergence and circulation of pathogens otherwise too virulent to persist?
Specific aims:
1. Determine the fitness impact of vaccination on virus strains of varying virulence. Hypotheses: (i) vaccination enhances the relative fitness of more virulent strains, and (ii) improvements in the efficacy of leaky vaccines fuel virulence evolution.
2. Determine the impact of maternal antibodies on the evolution of MDV virulence. Hypothesis: maternal immunity enhances the relative fitness of more virulent strains of offspring.
3. Experimentally evolve a single MDV strain in vaccinated and unvaccinated hosts. Hypothesis: virulence will increase fastest in immunized hosts.
4. Elucidate the epidemiology of MDV on poultry farms. Hypothesis: MDV is endemic on farms and in all types of operation.
5. Develop mathematical models relating the experimental data to farm- and industry-level epidemiology and evolution. Hypothesis: contrasting farm practices (hygiene, husbandry) and immune manipulations (vaccination, genetic resistance) will impact epidemiology and disease evolution.

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