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 goal of my research program is to understand the pathogenesis, host responses, and transmission dynamics of emerging, zoonotic, and veterinary viral pathogens through the integration of comparative pathology, molecular virology, immunology, and translational animal models. My laboratory investigates virus-host interactions across multiple species to define the mechanisms that govern disease severity, tissue tropism, viral persistence, and cross-species transmission, with an emphasis on pathogens of significance to animal and public health.

Areas of research include:

• Comparative pathogenesis and immunopathology of emerging and zoonotic viral diseases. As an experimental pathologist, I study virus-host interactions using advanced molecular pathology approaches to define mechanisms of viral tissue tropism, host responses, determinance of cross-species emergence and disease pathogenesis across diverse species, with a particular focus on pathogens of veterinary and public health significance.
• Respiratory viral infections caused by influenza A viruses and coronaviruses, with particular interest in the immunopathologic mechanisms that drive disease outcomes in the setting of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and altered metabolic signaling pathways. Using advanced animal models and molecular pathology approaches, we investigate how host immune responses influence viral replication, tissue injury, and recovery.
• Persistent viral infections and arterivirus biology, including equine arteritis virus (EAV) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). These studies seek to define the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating viral persistence, host susceptibility, and long-term carrier states.
• Development of next-generation vaccines for infectious diseases affecting livestock and poultry. Current efforts include vectored vaccine platforms for equine and porcine group A rotaviruses and mucosal vaccination strategies against highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1).
• Develop novel pathology-based methods for chronic wasting disease (CWD) detection.
• Develop and validate molecular diagnostic and pathology-based tools for infectious disease detection and surveillance, including multiplex PCR assays, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical methods.

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.  

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

2024, Dean’s Teacher Merit Honor Roll, Year II DVM students, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University

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)

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.

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. 

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

Zhang T, Magazine N, McGee MC, Carossino M, Veggiani G, Kousoulas KG, August A, Huang W. Th2 and Th17-associated immunopathology following SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection in Spike-vaccinated ACE2-humanized mice. J Med Virol. 2024 Jan;96(1):e29408. doi: 10.1002/jmv.29408. 

Mantlo E, Trujillo JD, Gaudreault NN, Morozov I, Lewis CE, Matias-Ferreyra F, McDowell C, Bold D, Kwon T, Cool K, Balaraman V, Madden D, Artiaga B, Souza-Neto J, Doty JB, Carossino M, Balasuriya U, Wilson WC, Osterrieder N, Hensley L, Richt JA. Experimental inoculation of pigs with monkeypox virus results in productive infection and transmission to sentinels. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2024 Dec;13(1):2352434. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2024.2352434. Epub 2024 Jun 11. 

Kwon T, Trujillo JD, Carossino M, Lyoo EL, McDowell CD, Cool K, Matias-Ferreyra FS, Jeevan T, Morozov I, Gaudreault NN, Balasuriya UBR, Webby RJ, Osterrieder N, Richt JA. Pigs are highly susceptible to but do not transmit mink-derived highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2024 Dec;13(1):2353292. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2024.2353292. Epub 2024 May 26. 

Hassanien RT, Thieulent CJ, Carossino M, Li G, Balasuriya UBR. Modulation of Equid Herpesvirus-1 Replication Dynamics In Vitro Using CRISPR/Cas9-Assisted Genome Editing. Viruses. 2024 Mar 6;16(3):409. doi: 10.3390/v16030409.

Hall JS, Nashold S, Hofmeister E, Leon AE, Falendysz EA, Ip HS, Malavé CM, Rocke TE, Carossino M, Balasuriya U, Knowles S. Little Brown Bats (Myotis lucifugus) Are Resistant to SARS-CoV-2 Infection. J Wildl Dis. 2024 Jul 26. doi: 10.7589/JWD-D-23-00114. Epub ahead of print.  

Vissani, M.A.; Alamos, F.; Tordoya, M.S.; Minatel, L.; Schammas, J.M.; Dus Santos, M.J.; Trono, K.; Barrandeguy, M.E.; Balasuriya, U.B.R.; Carossino, M*. Outbreak of Western Equine Encephalitis Virus Infection Associated with Neurological Disease in Horses Following a Nearly 40-Year Intermission Period in Argentina. Viruses 2024, 16, 1594. https://doi.org/10.3390/v16101594

Halwe NJ, Cool K, Breithaupt A, Schön J, Trujillo JD, Nooruzzaman M, Kwon T, Ahrens AK, Britzke T, McDowell CD, Piesche R, Singh G, Pinho Dos Reis V, Kafle S, Pohlmann A, Gaudreault NN, Corleis B, Ferreyra FM, Carossino M, Balasuriya UBR, Hensley L, Morozov I, Covaleda LM, Diel DG, Ulrich L, Hoffmann D, Beer M, Richt JA. H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b dynamics in experimentally infected calves and cows. Nature. 2025 Jan;637(8047):903-912. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08063-y. Epub 2024 Sep 25. 

Thieulent CJ, Balasuriya UBR, Tseng A, Crossland NA, Stephens JM, Dittmar W, Staszkiewicz J, Richt JA, Carossino M*. Diabetes exacerbates SARS-CoV-2 replication through ineffective pulmonary interferon responses, delayed cell-mediated immunity, and disruption of leptin signaling. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2025 Mar 7;15:1513687. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.

Gamage C, Holl W, Parreño V, Thieulent CJ, Balasuriya UBR, Vissani MA, Barrandeguy ME, Carossino M*. Comparative clinical, virological and pathological characterization of equine rotavirus A G3P[12] and G14P[12] infection in neonatal mice. J Gen Virol. 2025 Jun;106(6):002110. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.002110.

Kwon T, Trujillo JD, Carossino M, Machkovech HM, Cool K, Lyoo EL, Singh G, Kafle S, Elango S, Vediyappan G, Wei W, Minor N, Matias-Ferreyra FS, Morozov I, Gaudreault NN, Balasuriya UBR, Hensley LE, Diel DG, Ma W, Friedrich TC, Richt JA. Pathogenicity and transmissibility of bovine-derived HPAI H5N1 B3.13 virus in pigs. Emerg Microbes Infect. 2025 Dec;14(1):2509742. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2025.2509742. Epub 2025 Jun 16.

Gamage C, Graves A, Li G, Thieulent CJ, Balasuriya UBR, Morrow J, Vissani A, Parreño V, Matthijnssens J, Carossino M*. Coding-complete genome sequences of group B equine rotavirus from central Kentucky, USA, reveal circulation of a single genome constellation. Microbiol Resour Announc. 2025 Dec 11;14(12):e0074425. doi: 10.1128/mra.00744-25. Epub 2025 Oct 31.

Thieulent CJ, Sarkar S, Carossino M, Bhowmik M, Zhu H, Balasuriya UBR. Cell Surface Vimentin Is an Attachment Factor That Facilitates Equine Arteritis Virus Infection In Vitro. Viruses. 2026 Jan 15;18(1):113. doi: 10.3390/v18010113. PMID: 41600875; PMCID: PMC12846471.

Kwon T, Carossino M, Morozov I, Bold D, Gaudreault NN, Trujillo JD, Cool K, McDowell CD, Libanori Artiaga B, Madden DW, Balaraman V, Wilson WC, Balasuriya UBR, Richt JA. Influenza-Infected Pigs Are Not Susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Pathogens. 2026 Jan 26;15(2):134. doi: 10.3390/pathogens15020134. PMID: 41754386; PMCID: PMC12943655.

Kwon T, Gu W, Morozov I, Carossino M, Lyoo EL, McDowell CD, Li Y, Balasuriya UBR, Huang Y, Madrid DMC, Lee K, Richt JA, Driver JP. Pigs lacking Natural Killer T cells have altered cellular responses to influenza. PLoS Pathog. 2026 Apr 6;22(4):e1014094. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1014094. PMID: 41941497; PMCID: PMC13068344.

Machado M, Alves M, Coubrough C, Queiroz-Machado CRR, Barrandeguy M, Vissani A, Carossino M, Menchaca A. First confirmed report of equine coital exanthema in Uruguayan horses. Vet Res Commun. 2026 May 9;50(4):310. doi: 10.1007/s11259-026-11261-w. PMID: 42105035.

Hassanien RT, Dittmar W, Balasuriya UBR, Liu G, Thieulent CJ, Eid S, Carossino M*. Reverse genetics approach for arteriviruses using circular polymerase extension reaction. Access Microbiol. 2026 May 21;8(5):001181.v3. doi: 10.1099/acmi.0.001181.v3. PMID: 42181111; PMCID: PMC13193255.

ORCID

MYNCBI BIBLIOGRAPHY

GOOGLE SCHOLAR CITATIONS

Grant Funding

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) HPAI Poultry Innovation Grand Challenge 2025. Nanobody-directed, M-cell-targeted mucosal vaccine against HPAI H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b in poultry. Agency: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Mariano Carossino (PI); Award Period: 2026-2029. Total Award: $1,922,360

Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation. Award #1072. Chimeric VP7-VP4 MVA-vectored equine rotavirus vaccines Chimeric VP7-VP4 MVA-vectored equine rotavirus vaccines. Agency: Grayson Jockey Club Research Foundation, Inc. Mariano Carossino (PI); Award Period: 2025-2027. Total Award: $143,239

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Farmed Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Management and Research Activities 2024. Hapten-mediated and DNA-barcoded signal amplification for enhanced immunohistochemical detection of CWD prion protein. Agency: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Mariano Carossino (PI); Award Period: 2024-2026. Total Award: $247,695

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: 2023-2027. Total Award: $799,391

Institutional Development Award (IDeA), National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) COBRE Center for Lung Biology and Disease (CLBD), Phase II (P20GM130555). 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) Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Mariano Carossino (Subproject PI); Award Period: 2024-2026. Subproject Award: $776,686

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Enhancing the utility of deer mice as an infectious disease model. Agency: National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). Hippokratis Kiaris (University of South Carolina, PI); Mariano Carossino (LSU, subaward PI); Award Period: 2025-2030. Subproject Award: $99,996