WHERE WERE YOU BEFORE RECEIVING THIS AWARD?
At this stage I had just completed my clinical board examinations, handed in my PhD (January 2017) and had just started (in May 2016) my position as Assistant Professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine. I had never applied for or won any research funding prior to this award.
YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT IN LAY TERMS
In dairy farming, risk of disease is highest in young calves in the first few months of life. Respiratory disease is one of the main causes of disease in animals of this age. Many of the viruses and bacteria responsible for causing respiratory disease are commonly found in healthy animals. Other factors other than the presence of these pathogens are therefore important. It is known that the environment plays a significant role in the disease process, but there is considerable uncertainty about the specific environmental factors that need to be identified and controlled to prevent disease. Investigations are further limited due to difficulty in accurately diagnosing respiratory disease. This project demonstrated significant limitations in conventional methods of detecting respiratory disease in calves, adapted new, better methods of diagnosis and initiated an ongoing programme of research on respiratory disease in calves supporting multiple postgraduate students.
HOW HAS ISSF HELPED YOUR RESEARCH CAREER?
The impact of the ISSF CPS has been considerable. This award helped open up a vitally important area of research for the school and for the dairy industry which will have benefits for animal health and welfare. Since the CPS award I have received over ¤1.2 million in funding in related projects, supporting five PhD and two DVMS students. Some of the methods used in this study have been adapted and applied to other diseases in dairy production, generate further pilot data to open up new lines of investigation, and attracting additional research funding.
TANGIBLE OUTPUTS AS A RESULT OF RECEIVING THE AWARD
Leveraged Funding
2018-2020 Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) “Surveillance, Biosecurity and Welfare of Farmed Animals (SWAB)” Project Coordinator: €772,000
2018-2022 Dairy Research Ireland “Calf pneumonia and the environment” PI €200,200
2018-2019 Overhead Investment Plan (UCD) “Environmental sampling in calf pneumonia” PI: €5,000
2019-2021 Safefood “Antimicrobial use on the Island of Ireland” UCD lead €57,944
2021-2025 DAFM “Estimating The Burden Of Cattle Disease In Ireland To Inform Private And Public Sector Animal Health Investment Policy Considerations: A Project Contributing To The Global Burden Of Animal Disease Programme” PI €133,500
2021-2023 Teagasc “Quantifying Antimicrobial Use On Irish Dairy Farms And Validation Of A Self-Report Scale For Dairy And Pig Farms” UCD lead €48,000.
Publications
- McAloon, C.G., Roche, S., Ritter, C., Barkema, H.W., Whyte, P., More, S.J., O’Grady, L., Green, M.J. and Doherty, M.L., 2019. A review of paratuberculosis in dairy herds – Part 1: Epidemiology. The Veterinary Journal.
- McAloon, C.G., Roche, S., Ritter, C., Barkema, H.W., Whyte, P., More, S.J., O’Grady, L., Green, M.J. and Doherty, M.L., 2019. A review of paratuberculosis in dairy herds – Part 2: On-farm control. The Veterinary Journal.
- McAloon, C.G., Doherty, M.L., Whyte, P., Verdugo, C., Toft, N., More, S.J., O’Grady, L. and Green, M.J., 2019. Low accuracy of Bayesian latent class analysis for estimation of herd-level true prevalence under certain disease characteristics – An analysis using simulated data. Preventive veterinary medicine, 162, pp.117-125.
WHAT DID THE AWARD MEAN TO YOU PERSONALLY?
The CPS award was really important in giving me the confidence to apply, as principal investigator, for multiple national and international research opportunities. I believe it was the kickstart to my career that ultimately resulted in promotion to Associate Professor in autumn 2021.