Food Animal Health Care and Management
More than one third of the WCVM's overall research
activity relates to food animal health care and management - a traditional
focus for the College's research program. WCVM-based research projects provide
vital insight into the health issues and management of beef and dairy cattle,
swine, sheep, poultry and specialized livestock.
Researchers in several WCVM departments conduct basic
and applied investigations in areas such as reproduction, genetics, infectious
diseases, zoonoses, epidemiology, diagnostic pathology, herd health, veterinary
public health and food safety.
While the federal and provincial governments
provide the bulk of the funding for WCVM's food animal research initiatives,
many WCVM scientists also receive support from a wide variety of livestock
industry organizations across Canada. The College's food animal-focused faculty
are also involved in research collaborations and teaching initiatives that span
- Adams, Gregg
Basic and applied aspects of reproductive science and medicine. Dr. Adams' current projects include the characterization of reproductive events in wapiti and white-tailed deer, ovulation-inducing factors in llamas and alpacas, factors influencing oocyte competence in cattle, and synchrotron-based biomedical imaging of reproductive tissues.
- Allen, Andrew
Congenital hypothyroidism of foals, investigations of equine sarcoids, and the potential association between liver concentrations of copper and iron and pregnant mares dying of hemmorhage from ruptured uterine arteries.
- Campbell, John
Epidemiology of bovine trichomoniasis, vitamin E and selenium status of cow-calf herds, and factors affecting culling of breeding bulls.
- Card, Claire
The use of computer-assisted ultrasound image analysis, low dose insemination, semen cryopreservation, fertility of frozen semen, and breeding-induced inflammation in the mare.
- Chicoine, Al
Drug residues in food animals, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
- Clark, Chris
Cattle lameness and the control and prevention of infectious disease. Dr. Clark has a particular interest in clinical pharmacology and is involved in the Canadian gFARAD initiative (Global Food Animal Residues Avoidance Databank).
- Dowling, Trisha
Clinical pharmacology of antimicrobials and calcium channel blocking drugs.
- Ellis, John
Canine infectious tracheobronchitis; particularly immunity to Bordetella bronchiseptica. Neonatal immunization of calves; particularly early immunization for bovine respiratory syncytial virus. Porcine circo and torqueteno viruses; pathogenesis and vaccine development.
- Epp, Tasha
Zoonotic diseases, public health and epidemiology.
- Erickson, Nathan
- Gabadage, Kamal
- Gerdts, Volker
Development of neonatal vaccines; innate immunity at the respiratory surfaces (antimicrobial peptides); basic mechanisms of intestinal immunity; lymphocyte trafficking; mucosal immunology; chemokines; enteric infections; and knowledge transfer of basic research into applied clinical research and producers.
- Gomis, Susantha
Basic and applied aspects of pathogenesis and control of bacterial diseases in poultry and mammalian species.
- Gow, Sheryl
- Haines, Deborah
The study of the occurrence and prevention of failure of passive transfer of maternal antibody in cattle; immunohistochemical and rapid methods for diagnosis of immunodeficiencies, immune-mediated diseases, tumors and infectious diseases.
- Harding, John
Swine health including investigations of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), and the effects of fetal programming on fetal immunology and post-natal health of swine.
- Liu, Qiang
Elucidating molecular mechanisms of viral pathogenesis. Special research areas are human hepatitis viruses (such as hepatitis C virus) and porcine circoviruses.
- Lohmann, Katharina
Inflammation, endotoxemia and host-pathogen interactions.
- Mapletoft, Reuben
Dr. Mapletoft has a very active research and graduate student training program, paying particular attention to the control of ovarian function, superovulation,
- Palmer, Colin
Semen collection and breeding soundness evaluation in the bull and postpartum metritis in the cow.
- Parker, Sarah
Evaluation of diagnostic tests for surveillance of foodborne disease, risk factors for occurrence of pathogens during management prior to slaughter, health risk analysis comparing pathogen loads and chemical residue levels, and the epidemiology of food-borne disease.
- Petrie, Lyall
Neonatal calf diarrhea and bovine lameness and problems of the bovine hoof.
- Potter, Andrew
Application of genomics to the animal health field. Dr. Potter's work also focuses on forging links between the animal and human infectious disease research communities to ensure that technologies common to both fields can be leveraged to their greatest benefit.
- Rawlings, Norman
Basic and applied aspects of the regulation of ovarian folliculogenesis in sheep, and reproductive maturation in beef cattle.
- Rhodes, Charles
Swine production medicine.
- Seddon, Yolande
- Simko, Elemir
Various aspects of comparative innate immunity, pathogenesis of infectious diseases and evidence-based diagnostic anatomic pathology of vertebrate species.
- Singh, Baljit
Cell and molecular biology of lung inflammation. Dr. Singh's projects focus on mechanisms of neutrophil and monocyte migration into inflamed lungs, biology of pulmonary intravascular macrophages and environmental pulmonary toxicology.
- Singh, Jaswant
Dr. Singh specializes in exploring the ovarian follicular dynamics and neuroendocrine controls for characterizing oocyte competence in the bovine model of maternal aging and during perimenopausal period in women. His recent research interests include the development of domestic animal models of endometriosis in women and benign prostatic hyperplasia in men.
- Smart, Marion (Meg)
- Stookey, Joe
Maternal and social behaviour of cattle, swine and sheep, plus the factors that influence handling and temperament in beef cattle.
- Uehlinger, Fabienne
- Waldner, Cheryl
Examining the factors affecting the health and productivity of cow-calf herds in Western Canada. Dr. Waldner's current research includes drought related nutritional issues, BVDV, Neospora, zoonotic E. coli, antimicrobial resistance, and Cryptosporidia spp. and Giardia spp. in cow-calf herds. She also has a continuing interest in environmental epidemiology.
- Woodbury, Murray
Basic and applied research into the determinants of disease and health in specialized livestock including bison, deer and elk.