Linda Mansfield

Endowed Chairs University Distinguished Professors College of Veterinary Medicine College of Natural Science

• Albert C. Dehn and Lois E. Dehn Endowed Chair in Veterinary Medicine, University Distinguished Professor
• Established through a gift from Albert C. and Lois E. Dehn

• Large Animal Clinical Sciences Microbiology
• Molecular Genetics

Bio

Dr. Linda Mansfield is an inaugural Albert C. and Lois E. Dehn chair for the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Mansfield is university distinguished professor for the Departments of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. She has received more than 25 honors and awards for her work as a scientist and educator.

Mansfield’s research interests focus on the study of enteric pathogens that cause gastrointestinal disease. She studies the foodborne bacterium Campylobacter jejuni, and has produced a diagnostic test and demonstrated that this infection can lead to autoimmune diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Guillain Barré Syndrome (GBS). Her work identifying virulence genes and evolution of Campylobacter in the host during infection has led to better understanding of how this pathogen triggers acute and chronic disease. Based on this, current work is focused on discovery of therapeutics or preventatives that could be applied in animals and humans.

Her most notable contributions to science include determining the lifecycle of Sarcocystis neurona; illustrating the pathogenesis of C. jejuni, its immunity in porcine (pig) and murine (mouse) models, and its evolution in a natural host; determining antibiotic resistant C. jejuni in animal populations and the environment; illustrating the pathogenesis of GBS; and defining the role of the early infant microbiome in mediating allergic outcomes.