Amanda Ziegler, DVM, PhD

Research Summary

Dr. Amanda Ziegler is a veterinarian scientist at NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and PhD in Comparative Biomedical Sciences from NC State College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015 and 2018. She is also an alumnus of the UNC Gastroenterology Basic Science Research Training Program. During her graduate and postdoctoral studies, she identified a novel age-dependent defect in intestinal epithelial barrier repair using her neonatal pig model of intestinal ischemic injury. To continue this work, Dr. Ziegler has been awarded an NIH Office of the Director/Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (OD/ORIP) Special Emphasis Research Career Award (SERCA, K01) entitled Postnatal Development of Intestinal Barrier Repair.  The goal of this study is to examine postnatal development of glial-epithelial interactions in regulating barrier maintenance and repair using in vitro and large animal modeling techniques. In addition to this, Dr. Ziegler is also a co-Investigator on two major collaborative NIH/USDA research grants to study the roles of nutritional inputs, intestinal microbiome and the enteric nervous system in the postnatal development of intestinal barrier repair mechanisms. Dr. Ziegler also has experience in leading clinical trials on a national scale across multiple academic large animal hospitals, and has great interest in advising and supporting young scientists in their own career development, particularly in regards to navigating and applying for early career training awards from federal funding agencies.

Relevance of Research to CGIBD Mission:

The focus of Dr. Ziegler’s collaborative research is to understand how intestinal repair mechanisms develop after birth in order to advance novel therapeutic strategies and improve outcomes in human and veterinary neonatal patients affected by intestinal injury.

CGIBD Focus Area(s):  Large Animal Models, Regenerative Medicine/Repair

Pilot and Feasibility Award 2018

Collaborators: Magness, Odle, Blikslager, Van Landeghem