The Pesavento laboratory devotes considerable effort to analyzing novel patterns of disease, including the impact of persistent viral diseases in animal shelters, at the human-wildlife interface (suburbia), or in our food chain. We have a collaborative record of viral discovery (22 novel viruses) with the significance of identification supported by characterization of Amdoparvoviruses (red panda, fox, fisher cat, skunk), canine diarrhea-associated viruses including Amdo-, Kobu, Sappo, and circoviruses, neurotropic Astroviruses (bovine, ovine), canine and avian papillomaviruses, and oncogenic (and other) polyomaviruses, (raccoons, bears, red pandas, alpacas, and rats).As an anatomic pathologist we visualize the biology of interactions between viruses and their target tissues. Depending on the virus this work ranges from the use of molecular viral constructs to perform cell biology or diagnostics to tissue culture models of virus:host cell interaction to naturally occuring disease. The laboratory has current focused efforts, using traditional pathology, molecular virology, and cellular biology, on the study of persistent and prevalent amdoparvoviruses in carnivores, naturally occurring neuroglial tumors associated with RacPyV and circovirus associated disease (dog, bear).