Dr. Natalia Cernicchiaro
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I obtained my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Uruguay, in Montevideo, Uruguay in 2003. While attending veterinary school I started collaborating in several research projects pertaining to the monitoring and surveillance of diseases of economic or public health importance in the dairy and beef production systems. After practicing for less than a year, I left for St. Paul, MN, to pursue my Master of Science at the University of Minnesota, under Dr. Scott Wells’s supervision, focusing on the epidemiology of Johne’s disease in dairy cattle farms and validation of rapid methods for detection of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis and classification of farms’ status. After completion of my MS, in 2007 I started my PhD at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, under Dr. David Pearl’s supervision. My program had a quantitative emphasis where I focused on the application on multi-level modeling techniques to evaluate associations between management, demographic and health factors with the prevalence of E. coli O157 in feedlot, cow-calf and dairy cattle operations. Towards the end of my PhD, I also worked as a private contractor for the Public Health Agency of Canada in various projects where I gained experience in qualitative methods pertaining to appraising literature by conducting systematic reviews of the literature and meta-analysis. In September 2010, I started my post-doctoral fellowship at Kansas State University. My fellowship involved the application of epidemiological and economic methods to analyze associations between performance, demographic and other operational factors with Bovine respiratory disease morbidity in feedlots, under the supervision of Drs. David Renter and Brad White. Currently, I am an associate professor of Veterinary Epidemiology in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology, at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University.
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Research |
As a veterinary epidemiologist, I am interested in the application of epidemiological concepts and techniques, including multi-level modeling, risk analysis and other statistical methods, to design, implement, analyze, and interpret observational and experimental data. Having a primary research focus on food safety, I have studied a number of microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli non-O157, Salmonella, and Campylobacter in different matrices. Our studies on Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli have improved our understanding of the frequency, distribution and epidemiology of these pathogens as well as helped identify the most significant risk factors in cattle and its production pre- and peri-harvest environment. I am also particularly interested in validating diagnostic strategies as well as in evaluating the efficacy of commercially available control strategies (e.g., vaccines, feed additives) for reducing foodborne pathogens in animals and their production setting. Currently I am also working towards increasing our understanding of the associations between antimicrobial use and emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance in indicator and foodborne pathogenic bacteria.
I also have a research focus on animal health and production medicine, zoonoses, and emerging diseases. I like to integrate the use of core epidemiological and economic approaches to analyze large operational datasets on feedlot cattle health and performance as a way to enhance the practical understanding of cattle health problems. My projects have investigated determinants of the bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) in feedlot cattle. I have gained ample experience in the application of quantitative epidemiologic methods to evaluate the association between operational feedlot and environmental data with BRDC morbidity and mortality and with performance and carcass outcomes. Currently, I am part of a BRDC grant investigating health risk profiles that quantify the distribution of BRDC risks for defined subpopulations of at-risk feeder cattle by using risk analysis models. We expect that our results will have immediate and sustainable impacts on the U.S. beef industry by improving BRDC health and economic risk management as well as disease control strategies. In addition, I have participated in projects investigating control strategies for Epizootic Hemorrhagic disease in deer, and currently I am leading a study investigating the risk of introduction of Japanese encephalitis in United States. Other research interests include the application of knowledge synthesis and translation techniques (e.g., systematic review of literature and meta-analysis) as a tool to help practitioners, and producers make evidence-based decisions. My research addresses complex problems in humans, cattle and farm animals that are raised for human consumption with the ultimate goal of improving public health, food safety, animal health and well-being, and production efficiency. |
Teaching |
I coordinate and instruct the Advanced Epidemiology course (DMP 954) for graduate students and teach introductory Epidemiology for undergraduate students at Kansas State University. In addition, I participate in mentoring students in the MS, PhD and MPH programs.
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