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Jacqui Matthews
A qualified veterinary surgeon, my career has been in nematode research, spanning sub-unit vaccine development and diagnostics design for sustainable worm control. My vaccine research has focused on worm excreted/secreted (ES) molecules, thought to affect worm development and survival in the host. The approach has proven successful with the development of a recombinant protein vaccine, based on Teladorsagia circumcincta ES proteins, that induces significant levels of immunity against challenge in sheep. This work defines the best levels of protective immunity induced by any roundworm sub-unit vaccine in ruminant hosts. My group also studies anthelmintic resistance in horses and cattle; the main objectives being to improve tools to detect drug resistance and to design support systems that facilitate evidence-based control. This research has been instrumental in developing tools to differentiate worm species, defining mechanisms of drug resistance and in optimising diagnostic tests for animals managed under different conditions.