Professor Nikki Marks
RESEARCH FOCUS
Our research centres on infectious disease and has two main strands:
(1) The detection and monitoring of infectious diseases, especially parasitic infections. The work encompasses the monitoring of farm animals for parasitic infections and how this correlates to farm management practices and vector ecology. One area of focus encompasses analysis of changes in the distribution and prevalence of parasitic diseases in farm animals over time and correlating this to treatment regimens / anthelmintic resistance, farm practices and climate change. We also screen and monitor the prevalence of key disease vectors and associated pathogens, including ticks and tick-borne diseases. Other key aspects of these studies include monitoring local bee populations for infections and horizon scanning for new and emerging diseases;
(2) We are using new advances in sensor technologies to develop detailed understanding of animal behaviour and to exploit these tools and data to determine infection status to inform disease management and control.
Additionally, we use advanced thermography as a tool for the early detection of key inflammatory conditions.
Find out moreRESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
Open to PhD applications from those with at least a 2.1 degree (or equivalent) in the biological/veterinary/medical/computer sciences and interested in parasitology, infectious disease, animal health/welfare, disease epidemiology and parasite ecology.
PUBLIC OUTREACH AND KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
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Research Students
Phd Title: Using parasite egg-derived data to guide on-farm treatment and counter drug resistance
Name: Rebecca Armstrong
Phd Title: Exploiting sensory technologies to understand the impact of disease on badger behaviour
Name: Bethany McBurney
Phd Title: Platform for Precision Phenotyping of Farmed Animals
Name: Kyle Cooke
Phd Title: Understanding the mechanisms of parasite drug resistance
Name: Nathan Clarke
Alumni: where are they now?
Michael Stewart
Current position: - Lecturer, Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University Belfast, UK
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