Allison Stewart

Determining the presence and persistence of colostral transfer of passive immunity against Hendra virus in foals, and their response to Hendra vaccination.

Potential Honours, Masters or PhD project for graduates of Veterinary Science, Veterinary Technology, Equine Science, Agricultural Science or Science degrees. Previous horse handling experience is required. Hendra virus (HeV) is a uniquely Australian emerging zoonotic virus of horses, posing significant economic, animal welfare, and public health concerns. The virus is transmitted from bats to horses.

An equine vaccine Equivac® HeV is available and antibody titres greater than 1:32 are considered protective. There have been no HeV cases in vaccinated horses. As there is no human vaccine for HeV, the most effective means of preventing human infection is through vaccination of horses. All horses at UQ are vaccinated, with foals vaccinated at 4-6 months of age.

Immunity in the equine neonate is conferred via transfer of passive immunoglobulins through ingestion of colostrum. Maternal antibody titres in foals may offer a short period of protection against HeV. The ideal time to vaccinate foals is unknown. The project will involve bleeding foals at birth and then every month until vaccination. Blood samples will also be collected after vaccination of different aged foals. HeV titres will be measured. PhD level projects may also involve laboratory work in the validation of other diagnostic tests to measure HeV antibody titres.

Please contact Allison Stewart allison.stewart@uq.edu.au. Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.

Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.

Comparison of the effects of storage and temperature on the stability of Australian liquid formulations of pergolide.

PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

Concentrations of pergolide in various commercially available products will be measured after exposure to various temperatures and periods of time using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

Elevated basal plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentration is used to diagnose PPID. The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

The proposed piolet study would enrol client owned horses and ponies with PPID. ACTH concentration will be periodically measured after treatment with a liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide. A dose escalation study will be performed until clinical signs and ACTH concentrations improve. The efficacy of liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide will be compared.

Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.

Pilot study determining the efficacy of two commercial formulations of pergolide to treat Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) in horses.

PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

Elevated basal plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentration is used to diagnose PPID. The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

The proposed piolet study would enrol client owned horses and ponies with PPID. ACTH concentration will be periodically measured after treatment with a liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide. A dose escalation study will be performed until clinical signs and ACTH concentrations improve. The efficacy of liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide will be compared.

PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

Elevated basal plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentration is used to diagnose PPID. The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

The proposed piolet study would enrol client owned horses and ponies with PPID. ACTH concentration will be periodically measured after treatment with a liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide. A dose escalation study will be performed until clinical signs and ACTH concentrations improve. The efficacy of liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide will be compared.

Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.