Research News

Each month, we put a 'Spotlight On' a different researcher in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine to find out more about the path leading to their current role in the School, their area of interest and what drew them into this area, what they enjoy most about their work and the best thing about working in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine.

Click on the links below to find out more about our most recent ‘Spotlight On’ features:

Philip Becker, a Stage 4 Undergraduate Veterinary Medicine student at UCD tells us about how growing up on his family’s farm, he developed a deep-rooted passion for animal care. Surrounded by animals from a young age and regularly assisting the local vet, his interest in veterinary medicine grew naturally alongside a strong aptitude for science and maths. 

Amy Fitzpatrick, IRC Postdoctoral Fellow (PD Level 1) in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine speaks to us about how her journey took her from creative arts into an impactful research career in foodborne virology.

Dr Sourav Bhattacharjee, Assistant Professor in our Veterinary Biosciences Section, tells us about kite-flying in Kolkata, going to medical school, what brought him to the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine and his teaching and research work in the School.

Dr Nicola Fletcher, Assistant Professor in our Veterinary Biosciences Section, tells us about developing an interest in science, her love of research, realising a lifelong dream of working in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, and telescopes and travels!

Eilidh Thomson, Resident in Large Animal Clinical Reproduction (ECAR), tells us about growing up in a house full of animals, moving to Dublin in the middle of the pandemic to start a cattle reproduction residency in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, future travel plans and finding an excuse to bake! 

Dr. Osvaldo Bogado Pascottini, Ad Astra Fellowat theUCD School of Veterinary Medicine, has been awarded the2025 ADSA® Foundation Early Career Award (Production Division)by theAmerican Dairy Science Association (ADSA).

This prestigious international award recognises early career scientists who have made significant contributions to dairy production research. Dr. Pascottini was honoured for his innovative work in dairy cattle reproduction, with a particular focus on improving uterine health and exploring microbiome-based alternatives to antibiotics.

His research supports the development of more sustainable and science-driven approaches to herd health management and is helping to shape the future of veterinary and agricultural science.

The award will be presented at the ADSA Annual Meeting inLouisville, Kentucky, inJune 2025.

Congratulations to Dr. Pascottini on this well-deserved recognition of his outstanding contributions to veterinary science and global dairy research.

Dr Sourav Bhattacharjee, Assistant Professor in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine's Veterinary Biosciences Section, recently edited a Special Issue of the Journal of Anatomy, which was published as the journal's May 2025 issue (Vol. 246, Issue 5). 

The issue focused on Biomedical Imaging in Comparative Anatomy, and featured articles from internationally renowned research groups, including three articles from the Republic of Ireland, reporting on the advances in the field of biomedical imaging, including electron and light microscopy, computed tomography (CT), micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The utility of these advanced imaging tools was reported on a wide variety of species, including both humans and non-human species.

Dr Bhattacharjee will be conducting a workshop for the early career researchers during the upcoming summer meeting of theAnatomical Societyfrom 14th–16th July in Oxford (UK). He will also be presenting a poster based on the Special Issue in Oxford.

The following papers, published in 2024/2025, were led by CVERA members:

• Madden, J.M., Casey-Bryars, M., More, S.J., Barrett, D., Gormley, E., Ryan, E., 2024. Investigation of the association between the Enferplex bovine tuberculosis antibody test and the future risk of bovine tuberculosis in Irish cattle in infected herds: a pilot field study. Veterinary Research Communications 48, 555–561 ((opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-023-10200-3).
• Madden, J.M., O’Donovan, J., Casey-Bryars, M., Sweeney, J., Messam, L.L., McAloon, C.G., More, S.J., Kenny, K., Ryan, E., Gormley, E., 2024. The impact of changing the cut-off threshold of the interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) assay for diagnosing bovine tuberculosis in Ireland. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 224, 106129 (opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2024.106129).
• McGrath, G., More, S., 2024. Farm fragmentation in Ireland. Veterinaria Italiana 60, 4 ((opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.12834/VetIt.3484.29173.2).
• More, S.J., 2024. Eradication of bovine tuberculosis in Ireland: is it a case of now or never? Irish Veterinary Journal 77, 22 ((opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-024-00282-z).
• Tratalos, J.A., Madden, J.M., Casey, M., McSweeney, M., Farrell, F.M., More, S.J., 2024. An epidemiological investigation into the reasons for high bovine tuberculosis incidence in cattle herds of the Burren, Ireland, prior to 2020. Irish Veterinary Journal 77, 15 ((opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-024-00275-y).
• Tratalos, J., Madden, J., McGrath, G., More, S., 2024. Computing metrics to inform selection of candidate areas for a regionalized approach to bovine tuberculosis eradication in Ireland. Veterinaria Italiana 60, 4 ((opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.12834/VetIt.3486.23927.2).

The following papers, published in 2024/2025, were co-authored by CVERA members:

• Brock, J., Guelbenzu-Gonzalo, M., Lange, M., Tratalos, J.A., Barrett, D., Lane, L., More, S.J., Graham, D.A., Thulke, H.H., 2024, Evaluating the effectiveness & costs of strategies post-eradication to monitor for freedom from BVDV infection in Ireland. Agricultural Systems 221, 104127 ((opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104127).
• Chang, Y., Widgren, S., de Jong, M.C.M., Tratalos, J.A., More, S.J., Hartemink, N., 2025. Evaluating the effectiveness of badger vaccination combined with cattle test-and-removal in managing bovine tuberculosis: Insights from a two-host and multi-route transmission model. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 235, 106386 ((opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2024.106386).
• Martin, H., Garcia Manzanilla, E., More, S.J., Hyde, R., McAloon, C., 2025. Quantification of antimicrobial usage on Irish dairy farms: a comparison of three recording methods. Journal of Dairy Science (in press) ((opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2024-24688).
• McAloon, C.I., Farrell, D., Smith, J., Gordon, S.V., Sheehan, M., Kennedy, A., Geraghty, T., Mason, C., Leggett, B., Leonard, F.C., Sweeney, T., McGrath, G., O'Shaughnessy, J., O'Rourke, J., Ridley, A., Deeney, A., More, S.J., 2025. Characterisation and comparison of Mycoplasma bovis strain types from Irish and Scottish bovine isolates in a global context. Veterinary Microbiology 300, 110339 ((opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2024.110339).
• McAloon, C.I., McAloon, C.G., Barrett, D., Tratalos, J.A., McGrath, G., Guelbenzu, M., Graham, D.A., Kelly, A., O'Keeffe, K., More, S.J., 2024. Estimation of sensitivity and specificity of bulk tank milk PCR and 2 antibody ELISA tests for herd-level diagnosis of Mycoplasma bovis infection using Bayesian latent class analysis. Journal of Dairy Science 107, 8464-8478 ((opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2023-24590).
• O Donovan, S.M., McAloon, C.G., O'Grady, L., Geraghty, T., Burrell, A., McCarthy, M.C., Donlon, J., Tratalos, J.A., Mee, J.F., 2024. Use of conjoint analysis to weight biosecurity practices on pasture-based dairy farms to develop a novel audit tool-BioscoreDairy. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11, 1462783 ((opens in a new window)https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1462783).

News & updates from UCD CVERA can be found at: http://www.ucd.ie/cvera/news/