Natalie Castell, DVM PhD DACLAM
Department of Comparative Medicine, Division of Discovery Science
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Assistant Professor, Comparative Medicine, M.D. Anderson Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Bastrop, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2024 | Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, US, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy |
| 2019 | Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, College Station, TX, US, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine |
| 2013 | Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, US, Biomedical Sciences, Master of Science |
| 2012 | Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, US, Biomedical Sciences, Bachelor of Science |
Postgraduate Training
| 2019-2024 | Postdoctoral fellow, Lab animal medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2023 | Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine |
Honors & Awards
| 2023 - Present | ASP Primate Welfare Award |
| 2022 - Present | 1999 ISNV Pioneer in NeuroVirology Lectureship Award |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Regional Presentations
- 2017. Alexander disease (fibrinoid leukodystrophy) in a one-year-old Labrador retriever. Conference. C.L. Davis Foundation 27th Annual South Central Division Meeting. Galveston, TX, US.
National Presentations
- 2026. Social Wounding in Platyrrhine Primates: A Round Table Panel Discussion of Behavior Repertoires, Triggers, and Management Strategies. Panelist. ASP Meeting. Arlington, Virginia, US.
- 2023. Longitudinal neurocognitive assessment in SIV-infected rhesus macaques: A model for understanding cognitive dysfunction in retroviral infection. Conference. APV Workshop. Salt Lake City, UT, US.
- 2023. Early antibody response and viral neutralization correlate with reduced SIV infiltration in the CNS of pigtail macaques. Conference. AALAS National Meeting. Salt Lake City, UT, US.
- 2023. The significance of social housing for macaques in infectious disease research. Conference. ASP Meeting. Reno, NV, US.
- 2022. Deficient B cell responses correspond with CNS inflammation and encephalitis in SIV-infected macaques (M. mulatta and M. nemestrina). Poster. AALAS National Meeting. Louisville, KY, US.
- 2022. Behavioral and pharmacologic management of SIB in rhesus macaques receiving cocaine and antiretroviral therapy concurrent with SIV infection. Conference. APV Workshop. Louisville, KY, US.
- 2021. Acute cholangiohepatitis in naïve marmosets. Conference. APV Workshop. Kansas City, MO, US.
- 2021. Acute cholangiohepatitis in naïve marmosets. Conference. AALAS National Meeting. Kansas City, MO, US.
- 2020. Effect of Social Housing on Changes in Monocyte Expression in Pigtail Macaques (Macaca nemestrina) during Acute Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infection. Poster. AALAS National Meeting. Virtual, US.
- 2017. Hard yellow liver disease in West Texas cattle. Poster. ACVP & ASVCP Concurrent Annual Meeting. Vancouver, CA.
International Presentations
- 2023. Inflammasome activation in the CNS correlates with impaired early antibody response and viral neutralization in SIV-infected pigtail macaques (Macaca nemestrina). Poster. 19th International Symposium on NeuroVirology. Montreal, CA.
- 2021. Effect of social stress on innate immune activation in an SIV-infected pigtail macaque (Macaca nemestrina) model of acute HIV infection. Poster. ISTH Virtual Congress. Virtual, US.
Formal Peers
- 2019. Conversations on Research Animal Medicine and Management. Baltimore, MD, US.
- 2019. Regulations that Govern Animal Research. Baltimore, MD, US.
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Maxwell AR, Castell NJ, Brockhurst JK, Hutchinson EK, Izzi JM. Determination of an Acclimation Period for Swine in Biomedical Research. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 63(6):651-654, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39107079.
- Castell NJ, Abreu CM, Shirk EN, Queen SE, Mankowski JL, Clements JE, Veenhuis RT. SIV-specific antibodies protect against inflammasome-driven encephalitis in untreated macaques. Cell Rep 43(10):114833, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39383041.
- Adelson RP, Ciobanu M, Garikipati A, Castell NJ, Barnes G, Tawara K, Singh NP, Rumph J, Mao Q, Vaish A, Das R. Family-Centric Applied Behavior Analysis Promotes Sustained Treatment Utilization and Attainment of Patient Goals. Cureus 16(6):e62377, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39011193.
- Adelson RP, Ciobanu M, Garikipati A, Castell NJ, Singh NP, Barnes G, Rumph JK, Mao Q, Roane HS, Vaish A, Das R. Family-Centric Applied Behavior Analysis Facilitates Improved Treatment Utilization and Outcomes. J Clin Med 13(8), 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38673682.
- Rodriguez BV, Wen Y, Shirk EN, Vazquez S, Gololobova O, Maxwell A, Plunkard J, Castell N, Carlson B, Queen SE, Izzi JM, Driedonks TAP, Witwer KW. An ex vivo model of interactions between extracellular vesicles and peripheral mononuclear blood cells in whole blood. J Extracell Vesicles 12(12):e12368, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 38047476.
- Powers SJ, Castell N, Vistein R, Kalloo AN, Izzi JM, Gabrielson KL. Bacterial Cholecystitis and Cholangiohepatitis in Common Marmosets (Callithrix Jacchus). Comp Med 73(2):173-180, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36944497.
- Castell N, Guerrero-Martin SM, Rubin LH, Shirk EN, Brockhurst JK, Lyons CE, Najarro KM, Queen SE, Carlson BW, Adams RJ, Morrell CN, Gama L, Graham DR, Zink C, Mankowski JL, Clements JE, Metcalf Pate KA. Effect of Single Housing on Innate Immune Activation in Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Pigtail Macaques ( Macaca nemestrina ) as a Model of Psychosocial Stress in Acute HIV Infection. Psychosom Med 84(8):966-975, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36162063.
- Driedonks T, Jiang L, Carlson B, Han Z, Liu G, Queen SE, Shirk EN, Gololobova O, Liao Z, Nyberg LH, Lima G, Paniushkina L, Garcia-Contreras M, Schonvisky K, Castell N, Stover M, Guerrero-Martin S, Richardson R, Smith B, Machairaki V, Lai CP, Izzi JM, Hutchinson EK, Pate KAM, Witwer KW. Pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of extracellular vesicles administered intravenously and intranasally to Macaca nemestrina. J Extracell Biol 1(10), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36591537.
- Dhakal S, Ruiz-Bedoya CA, Zhou R, Creisher PS, Villano JS, Littlefield K, Ruelas Castillo J, Marinho P, Jedlicka AE, Ordonez AA, Bahr M, Majewska N, Betenbaugh MJ, Flavahan K, Mueller ARL, Looney MM, Quijada D, Mota F, Beck SE, Brockhurst J, Braxton AM, Castell N, Stover M, D'Alessio FR, Metcalf Pate KA, Karakousis PC, Mankowski JL, Pekosz A, Jain SK, Klein SL. Sex Differences in Lung Imaging and SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Responses in a COVID-19 Golden Syrian Hamster Model. mBio 12(4):e0097421, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34253053.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 28, 2026