Thomas R. Klei

Dr. Klei has a joint appointment in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology in the School of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Veterinary Science in the LSU Agricultural Center. His research activities are related to the host immune response to parasitic nematode infection as it develops into either protection from infection or pathology.  He also serves as Associate Dean for Research and Academic Affairs.  Dr. Klei lectures and teaches laboratory courses on parasitology and immunology in the veterinary medical curriculum and in the graduate program in veterinary medical sciences.  He has served as major and minor professor for both M.S. and Ph.D. candidates and serves on the Program Reveiw Council.  He is a past president of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Parasitology, Experimental Parasitology, Infection and Immunity, Equine Practice and the Compendium for Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian.  He is a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry on the development of veterinary anthelmintics, and he has served on grant peer review panels for the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization.  Dr. Klei participates in the Multidisciplinary Program in Infectious Disease.

Research Interests

Specific involvements include the study of immunopathogenic and regulatory mechanisms involved in human and animal filariasis. These studies, primarily of laboratory animal models for human lymphatic filariasis, have been supported by grants from the World Health Organization special program for research and training in tropical medicine and the National Institutes of Health and are conducted in the School of Veterinary Medicine.  Dr. Klei also maintains an active and diverse research program on basic and applied aspects of equine parasite control.  He has several projects on equine parasites which include characterization of the immune response to nematode infections, studies on basic biologic and chemotherapeutic control measures useful against internal parasites of horses, and the epidemiology of equine nematode infections in Louisiana.  In addition, studies have begun on the potential use of nematode trapping fungi as a biologic control for these parasites on pastures in cooperation with the Danish Center for Experimental Parasitology.  These research activities are funded by grants from the USDA-NRI program, the pharmaceutical industry and the support of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station. These studies are conducted in the Department of Veterinary Science.

Selected Publications

Klei, T.R., and Chapman, M.R. 1999.  Immunity in equine cyanthostome infections.  Vet. Parasitol.  86:191-202.

Rao, U.R., Nasarre, C., Coleman, S.U., Horohov, D.W., and Klei, T.R., 1999.  Granulomatous inflammatory response to recombinant filarial proteins of Brugia sp.  Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg.  60:251-255.

Nasarre, C., Krahenbuhl, J.L., and Klei, T.R., 1998.  down regulation of macrophage activation in Brugia pahangi-infected jirds (Meriones unguiculatus).  Infect. and Immunt.  66:  1063-1069.

Monahan, C.M., Chapman, M.R., French, D.D., Taylor, H.W., and Klei, T.R.  1998.  Experimental cyathostome challenge of ponies maintained with or without benefit of daily pyrantel tartrate feed additive:  Comparisons of parasite burdens, immunity and colonic pathology.  Vet. Parasit.  74:  229-241.

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