Dr. Petersen’s laboratory has focused on the recognition and prevention of zoonotic diseases, primarily directed at the epidemiology and immunobiology of these diseases. As an Associate Professor at University of Iowa, College of Public Health, she teaches joint veterinary, medical and global public health coursework and conducts outreach related to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of zoonotic diseases within human and animal populations. Her active research group is focused on the long term goal of understanding how to best alter immune responses to zoonotic species for effective treatment or vaccination against chronic intracellular diseases. Specific ongoing projects address the role of regulatory B cells in altering immunity and immune memory, vaccine responsiveness during asymptomatic disease, the role of carbohydrate cap sugars in altering innate immune responses and antigen processing and a project in Brazil with Dr. Selma Jeronimo looking at transmission and control of Leishmaniasis.