Dr. Beth Meccariello is a leading expert and regular industry and academic lecturer in virology.  Her deep scientific knowledge extends throughout the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and biopharmaceutical fields.

Background

Beth is a clinical consultant involved in the design, implementation, and publication of research related to coronaviruses. Beth's research has been focused on coronaviruses with the goal of understanding how these pathogens extend their tropism to infect new cells and new species.

Her projects have included a long-term study of the viral factors involved in the development of Feline Infectious Peritonitis – a fatal coronavirus infection that is characterized by the virus’s acquisition of macrophage tropism. Through collaborations with the Cornell Department of Biomedical Sciences and the Animal Health Diagnostic Center, Beth has had the opportunity to characterize fatal cases of coronavirus infection in dogs and cats. She has also collaborated on research to determine the viral factors associated with the ability of some human coronaviruses to infect the brain.

Beth also helped develop an RNA in situ hybridization assay for diagnostic testing, optimization of next generation sequencing techniques to detect mutations associated with virulence, and genomic analysis of viral variants under selective pressure to develop a risk prediction algorithm for use in veterinary diagnostics.

Beth’s thesis research involved RT-PCR and sequencing of coronavirus and the characterization of mutations associated with viral virulence. She was first author on a landmark study cited by 92+ subsequent publications linking amino acid changes at a key viral activation site to the development of lethal disease in cats and functional changes in proteolytic cleavage. Beth has also collaborated with an industry leading company in diagnostic testing regarding the development of a PCR based test to differentiate virulent and avirulent coronavirus infections.

Beth completed a fellowship in Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with a focus on vector borne disease. She is currently a practicing clinician at Cornell University where she is a member of the clinical faculty and an active collaborator in both clinical and laboratory research.

Publications

Licitra, B.N., Millet, J.K., Regan, A.D., Hamilton, B.S., Rinaldi, V.D., Duhamel, G.E., Whittaker, G.R. Mutation in spike protein cleavage site and pathogenesis of feline coronavirus. Emerg Infect Dis. 2013 Jul; 19(7): 1066-1073. PMCID: PMC3713968.

Licitra BN, Duhamel GE, Whittaker GR. Canine enteric coronaviruses: emerging viral pathogens with distinct recombinant spike proteins. Viruses. 2014 Aug 22;6(8):3363-76. PMCID: PMC4147700

Licitra BN, Whittaker GR, Dubovi EJ, Duhamel GE. Genotypic characterization of canine coronaviruses associated with fatal canine neonatal enteritis in the United States. J Clin Microbiol. 2014 Dec;52(12):4230-8. PMCID: PMC4313292

Belouzard S., Millet J.K., Licitra B.N., Whittaker G.R. Mechanisms of Coronavirus Cell Entry Mediated by the Viral Spike Protein. Viruses. 2012: 4(6):1011-1033.

Regan A.D., Millet J.K., Tse L.P., Chillag Z., Rinaldi V., Licitra B.N., Dubovi E.J., Town C.D., Whittaker G.R. Characterization of a recombinant canine coronavirus with a distinct receptor-binding (S1) domain. Virology. 2012: 430(2): 90-99.

Licitra B., Chambers E.W., Kelly R., Burkot T.R. Detection of Dirofilaria immitis (Nematoda: Filarioidea) by polymerase chain reaction in Aedes albopictus, Anopheles punctipennis, and Anopheles crucians (Diptera: Culicidae) from Georgia, USA. Journal of Medical Entomology. 2010: 47(4):634-638.

Sweet AN, André NM, Stout AE, Licitra, BN, Whittaker GR. Clinical and Molecular Relationships between COVID-19 and Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). Viruses. 2022 Feb 26;14(3):481.

Stout AE, André NM, Jaimes JA, Licitra BN, Whittaker GR. One Medicine: a comparative approach to investigating human and animal coronavirus infections. J Feline Med Surg. 2021 Apr; 23(4):267-268.

Sweet A, Andre N, Licitra BN, Whittaker GR. (2022). RNA in-situ hybridization for pathology-based diagnosis of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP): current diagnostics for FIP and comparison to the current gold standard. Qeios.

Regan AD, Millet JK, Tse LV, Chillag Z, Rinaldi VD, Licitra BN, Dubovi EJ, Town CD, Whittaker GR. (2012) Characterization of a Recombination Canine Coronavirus with a Distinct Receptor-Binding (S1) Domain. Virology 430(2), 90-9.

Belouzard S, Millet, JK, Licitra, BN, and Whittaker GR. (2012) Mechanisms of Coronavirus Cell Entry Mediated by the Viral Spike Protein. Viruses 4(6), 1011–1033.

Beth Meccariello, DVM, PhD

Technical Advisor

Focus Areas

Life Sciences

Laboratory Ops & Processes

Education &

Ph.D., Virology & Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Cornell University

D.V.M., Cornell University

B.S., Biology, magna cum laude, Cornell University

bnm@stoddard.legal

1.407.580.1322

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