White Blood Cell Counting Bench
Author: Anna Bolding | Major: Anthropology, Biology | Semester: Fall 2024
Though I began my thesis project in the Fall of 2024, my journey in Dr. Kristian Forbes’ Disease Ecology Lab began during the second semester of my freshman year. I joined the lab as an aspiring physician-scientist with a strong interest in infectious diseases and was first trained to differentiate and count white blood cell slides.
My thesis focuses on the interplay between Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) infection and the immune system of the bank vole- a small rodent that can carry a persistent Puumala hantavirus infection without showing signs of illness. Humans contract PUUV through spillover events, typically through exposure to urine, feces, or nesting material from a PUUV-infected vole. Unlike voles, PUUV causes disease in humans. Due to limitations in immunological tools in wild populations, the virus’s impact on wild bank vole immune systems remains poorly understood. By investigating how PUUV infection impacts white blood cell composition in wild voles, we aim to provide insight into PUUV-associated immune responses within wild populations of the reservoir host. Findings from this study could enhance our understanding of how PUUV persists in nature and potentially inform public health and conservation strategies. My thesis uses data collected over three years from study sites in Southern Finland, where our team used a capture-mark-recapture method to trap, track, and sample voles. In the summer of 2023, I had the opportunity to aid in collecting vole samples. I spent nearly two months in Finland, where I assisted in bank vole trapping and processing, and conducted lab work. It was during this trip that I became inspired to use the white blood cell data in my own thesis. It’s extremely rewarding to utilize my work done as a field tech in my own investigations.
In the Fall of 2024, Dr. Forbes helped me refine my research question and overall approach to the project. My graduate student mentor, Katy Wearing, taught me how to use R for statistical analysis and helped me formulate a plan for interpreting data. Both Dr. Forbes and Katy have provided invaluable feedback on my writing and have guided me through each stage of the research process.
Based on lab-based studies, we expected to observe differences in monocyte and lymphocyte composition following PUUV infection. Using differential white blood cell counts, we evaluated changes in immunity for individual voles before and after PUUV infection. So far, our analysis shows no significant differences in monocytes, lymphocytes, or neutrophils before and after infection in PUUV-switch individuals. Next semester, I plan to conduct further analysis by investigating total white blood cell count changes in PUUV-switch individuals, as well as comparing general differences in immune profiles of infected and uninfected voles.
The Arkansas SURF grant and the Honors College have provided me with the funds necessary for this study. Counting white blood cells is a time-consuming process, and this funding allows me to devote sufficient time to this project. Additionally, thanks to a Conference Travel Grant from the Honors College, I’ll be presenting a poster on this research at the University of Notre Dame this summer. I’m extremely thankful for Dr. Forbes, the Fayetteville Disease Ecology Lab, the Arkansas Division of Higher Education, and the Honors College for their continued support. This research experience has reaffirmed my passion for infectious disease and immunology. I have grown tremendously as a researcher throughout this project, and I look forward to continuing this journey in the fall.