Amanda Maxwell, DVM, DACLAM

Education:

2020: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC

2020-2023: Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinical Laboratory Animal Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

2024: Diplomate, American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DACLAM)

About:

Dr. Amanda Maxwell is an assistant Professor in the department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology. She currently serves as the Director of the Laboratory Animal Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and the Director of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery for Research Animal Resources. Within this role, she provides consultation, hands-on support, and training to large animal researchers, including model development, experimental design, and protocol writing as well as clinical expertise and training in anesthesia, sedation, and surgery. She oversees a busy and in-demand large animal surgical service, including supervising a team of veterinary technicians who provide large animal anesthesia services in the Ross and CMSC operating rooms.

Prior to attending veterinary school, Dr. Maxwell interned at Johns Hopkins University in various labs and served as a rodent veterinary technician with Research Animal Resources. This experience lead her to pursue veterinary school with the intention of becoming a board-certified laboratory animal veterinarian. After completing her DVM at North Carolina State University, Dr. Maxwell returned to Johns Hopkins University to complete a  clinical laboratory animal medicine post-doctoral fellowship. Subsequently, she accepted a faculty position within the Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology as the clinical veterinarian overseeing the Johns Hopkins Nonhuman Primate Breeding and Research Farm. After two years in this role, Dr. Maxwell transitioned to her current position as the Director of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery.

Research Interests:

Dr. Maxwell research interests include clinical research projects that positively impact both human and animal health. She is particularly interested in the treatment and prevention of shigellosis, and has worked with collaborators on the development of a vaccine for shigella to benefit humans and nonhuman primates.

 Collaborative Research

Dr. Maxwell serves as the veterinarian with large animal expertise on a number of NIH funded grants. These collaborations have lead to the following peer-reviewed publications:

Eisenson DL, Iwase H, Chen W, Hisadome Y, Cui W, Santillan MR, Schulick AC, Gu D, Maxwell A, Koenig K, Sun Z, Warren D, Yamada K. Combined islet and kidney xenotransplantation for diabetic nephropathy: an update in ongoing research for a clinically relevant application of porcine islet transplantation. Front Immunol. 2024 Feb 27;15:1351717. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1351717. PMID: 38476227; PMCID: PMC10927755.

Escarra-Senmarti M, Brockhurst J, Maxwell AR, Godwin T, Zhang T, Chen Y, Um PK, Danilova L, Hsu WC, Lin CT, Hanke T, Bishai WR, Pekosz A, Brayton C, Korber B, Rosario M. A conserved region T-cell vaccine for Sarbecoviruses. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 May 22:2025.05.20.654373. doi: 10.1101/2025.05.20.654373. PMID: 40475447; PMCID: PMC12139835.

Gordy JT, Zheng JJ, Maxwell AR, Bates RE, Taylor AD, Karanika S, Ton H, Meza J, Li Y, Zhang J, Karakousis PC, Markham RB. MIP3α-Rel_Mtb intranasal DNA vaccination induces reactive T-cell infiltration into the lungs of mice and macaques. Vaccine. 2025 Aug 30;62:127517. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127517. Epub 2025 Jul 16. PMID: 40675108; PMCID: PMC12313244.

Karanika S, Wang T, Yilma A, Castillo JR, Gordy JT, Bailey H, Quijada D, Fessler K, Tasneen R, Rouse Salcido EM, Harris HT, Bates RE, Ton H, Meza J, Li Y, Taylor AD, Zheng JJ, Zhang J, Peske JD, Karantanos T, Maxwell AR, Nuermberger E, Markham RB, Karakousis PC. Therapeutic DNA Vaccine Targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis Persisters Shortens Curative Tuberculosis Treatment. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Sep 7:2024.09.03.611055. doi: 10.1101/2024.09.03.611055. PMID: 39282461; PMCID: PMC11398349.

 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. 2023 Dec;12(12):e12368. doi: 10.1002/jev2.12368. PMID: 38047476; PMCID: PMC10694845.

Education

Dr. Maxwell serves as the training program director, ensuring that the next generation of laboratory animal veterinarians develop the technical and didactic training essential to the field. She has given lectures on Ethics in Animal Research to various departments within Johns Hopkins University. She is active within the field of primate welfare, speaking on the veterinary-behavior interface at nationally recognized professional organizations such as the Association of Primate Veterinarians (APV) and American Society of Primatologists (ASP).

 Clinical Service Focus/Expertise

Dr. Maxwell’s clinical focus has been on the development of additional expertise and techniques for experimental support, including non-invasive angio-catheterization in a variety of large animal models, and diagnostic and therapeutic ultrasound techniques. Relevant Publications related to welfare and advancing refinements in laboratory animal medicine include:

Maxwell AR, Hutchinson EK, Allen JV, Painter MC, Hopper LM. Collaborating for the Successful Retirement and End-of-Life Care of Non-Human Primates in Biomedical Research. Vet Sci. 2024 Nov 12;11(11):560. doi: 10.3390/vetsci11110560. PMID: 39591334; PMCID: PMC11598828.

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. 2024 Nov 1;63(6):651-654. doi: 10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-24-047. PMID: 39107079; PMCID: PMC11645885.

Maxwell AR, Herrod JA, Hutchinson EK. A comparison of different antibiotic regimens for the treatment of naturally acquired shigellosis in rhesus and pigtailed macaques (Macaca mulatta and nemestrina). J Med Primatol. 2022 Dec;51(6):374-380. doi: 10.1111/jmp.12608. Epub 2022 Aug 31. PMID: 36045594; PMCID: PMC9805204.