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Dr Gary Muscatello

Dr Gary Muscatello

Lecturer in Applied Animal Microbiology
Ph: +61 2 9114 0790
M:+61 409 857 894
Fax: +61 2 9351 7348
E-mail:
B14, Room 112 - McMaster Building
The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia

Qualifications

BVSc (Melb.), GradCertUnivTeach (Melb.), PhD (Melb.)

Teaching Areas

  • Veterinary Microbiology – Year 3 BVSc
  • Veterinary Public Health – Year 3 BVSc
  • Food Safety – Veterinary Public Health Management
  • Research projects – Year 4 AVBS
  • Food Safety – Year 4 (elective) AVBS (2009+)
  • Introduction to Veterinary Pathogenesis – Year 2 AVBS (2009+)
  • Agents of Disease – Year 3 (elective) AVBS (2010+)
  • Laboratory Disease Investigations – Year 3 (elective) AVBS (2010+)
  • Undergraduate and Postgraduate research supervision

Administration

  • Unit of study coordinator – Food Safety – Year 4 (elective) AVBS (2009+)
  • Unit of study coordinator – Agents of Disease – Year 3 (elective) AVBS (2010+)
  • Seminar series coordinator (Sydney, 2008)

Areas of Research

  • Respiratory biomarkers and infectious disease in the horses.
  • Food-borne pathogens of animal origin; detection and epidemiology.
  • On-farm microbiological diagnostic technologies.
  • Infectious diseases in animal and climate change.

Research projects

  • Respiratory disease and biomarkers in the foal.
  • Plasmid diversity in Australian strains of virulent Rhodococcus equi.
  • Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of bacterial isolates from the horse.

Postgraduate opportunities

  • Respiratory disease and biomarkers in the foal.

Contribution to the Profession and the Community

  • Member of the AVA, EVA and ASAVA
  • Veterinary Practitioners Registration: Victoria and New South Wales
  • Ad hoc referee for Veterinary Microbiology

Selected Publications

Dawson T.R.M.Y., Horohov D.W., Meijer W.G and Muscatello G. (2010). Current understanding of the equine immune response to Rhodococcus equi. An immunological review of R. equi pneumonia. Vet Immun Immunopath 135:1-11.

Muscatello G., Gilkerson J.R. and Browning G.F. (2009). Detection of virulent Rhodococcus equi in exhaled air samples from naturally infected foals. J Clin Micro 47: 734-737

Todhunter K.H., Perkins N.R., Wylie R.M., Chicken C., Blishen A.J., Racklyeft D.J., Muscatello G., Wilson M.C., Adams P.L., Gilkerson J.R., Bryden W.L. and Begg A.P. (2009). Equine amnionitis and foetal loss: The case definition for an unrecognized cause of abortion in mares. Aust Vet J 87: 35-38

P.K. Knight and Musctaello G. (2008). Climate change and the racing industry. 17th International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians, Antalya, Turkey, pp 321-325

Muscatello G., Lowe J.M., Flash M.L., McBride K.L., Browning G.F. and Gilkerson J.R. (2007). Review of the epidemiology and ecology of Rhodococcus equi. AAEP 53:214-217.

Muscatello G., Leadon D.P., Klay M., Ocampo-Sosa A., Lewis D.A., Fogarty U., Gilkerson J.R., Meijer W.G. and Vazquez-Boland J.A. (2007). Rhodococcus equi infection in foals: the science of ‘rattles’. Equine Vet J. 39:470-478.

Muscatello G., Gilkerson J.R and Browning G.F. (2007). Comparison of two selective media for the recovery, isolation, enumeration and differentiation of Rhodococcus equi. Vet Microbiol. 119:324-329.

Muscatello G., Anderson G.A., Gilkerson J.R. and Browning G.F. (2006). Association between ecology of virulent Rhodococcus equi and the epidemiology of R. equi pneumonia on Australian Thoroughbred farms. Appl Environ Microbiol. 72:6152-6160.

Muscatello G., Gerbaud S, Kennedy C, Gilkerson J.R., Buckley T, Klay M, Leadon D.P. and Browning G.F. (2006). Comparison of concentrations of Rhodococcus equi and virulent R. equi in air of stables and paddocks on horse breeding farms in a temperate climate. Equine Vet J. 38:263-265.

Phumoonna T., Muscatello G., Chicken C., Gilkerson J.R., Browning G.F., Barton M.D. and Heuzenroeder M.W. (2006). Clinical evaluation of a peptide-ELISA based upon N-terminal B-cell epitope of the VapA protein for diagnosis of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals. J Vet Med B Infect Dis Vet Public Health. 53:126-132.

Muscatello G. and Browning G.F. (2004). Identification and differentiation of avirulent and virulent Rhodococcus equi using selective media and colony blotting DNA hybridization to determine their concentrations in the environment. Vet.Microbiol. 100:121-127.

Haites R. E., Muscatello G., Begg A.P. and Browning G.F. (1997). Prevalence of the virulence-associated gene of Rhodococcus equi in isolates from infected foals. J. Clin. Micobiol. 35: 1642-1644.