Professor Richard Whittington

Chair Farm Animal Health
JL Shute Building CO1
425 Werombi Road Camden NSW 2570
Phone: +61 2 9351 1619
Fax: +61 2 9351 1618
Email:

Qualifications

1980 BVSc (Hons 1, University Medal)
1987 MACVSc
1994 PhD
2008 GAICD
2010 FASM

Career History

1980 - 1983 Veterinary practice
1984 - 2002 NSW Agriculture
2002 - present The University of Sydney

Professional Distinctions

• 2002 Ian Clunies Ross Award, Australian College of Veterinary Scientists for contributions to veterinary research.
• Specialist registration in Veterinary Pathobiology.
• Fellow of the Australian Society for Microbiology.

Teaching Areas

• Ruminant Health & Production
• Aquaculture Health & Production (proposed)
• Veterinary Microbiology
• Animal Husbandry 1B
• Post Graduate Course: Veterinary Public Health Management

Administration

Chair Farm Animal Health

Research Interests

Richard graduated with a BVSc from The University of Sydney and spent several years in small and mixed animal practice on the NSW south coast and in the United Kingdom before undergoing training with NSW Agriculture in Veterinary Pathology. Following five years as a diagnostic pathologist Richard commenced full time research at the Veterinary Research Station, Glenfield and Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, working mainly in microbiology, virology and immunology of economically significant diseases of sheep and fish, and completed a PhD on the immunology of Dichelobacter nodosus infection in sheep at the University of Sydney.

Richard currently leads research on the pathobiology of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, the cause of Johne's disease in ruminants, and infectious diseases of finfish and wildlife including the platypus. His research activity encompasses epidemiology, diagnostic test development and validation, biosecurity, import risk analysis for aquatic animal health, and the impact of viral infections on conservation of threatened aquatic finfish species. Major studies involve vaccine development for D.nodosus infection in sheep, molecular studies of viruses and bacteria, immune responses and pathology in individual animals and animal populations. This aims to improve understanding of host-pathogen interactions and will lead to development of improved diagnostic tests, vaccines and other disease control strategies. This research is conducted at Camden in specialist infectious diseases laboratories and involves a large and dynamic group of young scientists, post graduate students and support staff. Richard also leads several international projects in Indonesia. He teaches in veterinary public health, microbiology, pathology and ruminant and aquatic animal health. Richard was the inaugural chair of the Veterinary Public Health Management Program, a unique post graduate course work degree program for animal health professionals.

Richard is an OIE-nominated technical expert on EHN virus and ranavirus, and jointly manages the reference laboratories for these agents for the OIE in conjunction with CSIRO AAHL. He is a member of national and international scientific committees and a board member of the International Association for Paratuberculosis.

Contribution to the Profession and the Community

• OIE International Reference Laboratory for Epizootic.
• Haematopoietic Necrosis Virus infection of finfish.

Selected Publications

de Silva K, Begg D, Carter N, Taylor D, Di Fiore L, Whittington R (2010). The early lymphocyte proliferation response in sheep exposed to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis compared to infection status. Immunobiology 215(1):12-25.

Whittington RJ, Waldron A and Warne (2010). Thermal inactivation profiles of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in lamb skeletal muscle homogenate fluid. International Journal of Food Microbiology 137:32-39.

Hick P and Whittington RJ (2010). Optimisation and validation of a real-time reverse transcriptase –polymerase chain reaction assay for detection of betanodavirus. Journal of Virological Methods 163: 368-377.

Bower K, Begg D and Whittington RJ (2010). Optimisation of culture of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis from blood samples. Journal of Microbiological Methods 80:93-99.

Zhong L, Taylor DL and Whittington RJ (2010). Proteomic profiling of ovine serum by SELDI-TOF MS: optimisation, reproducibility and feasibility of biomarker discovery using routinely collected samples. Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 33: 47-63.

Dhungyel OP and Whittington RJ (2010). Modulation of inter-vaccination interval to avoid antigenic competition in multivalent footrot (Dichelobacter nodosus) vaccines in sheep. Vaccine 28: 470-473.

Whittington RJ, Becker JA and Dennis MM (2010). Iridovirus infections in finfish – critical review with emphasis on ranaviruses. Journal of Fish Diseases. 33: 95-122.

Begg DJ, de Silva K, di Fiore L, Taylor DL, Bower K, Zhong L, Kawaji S, Emery D and Whittington RJ (2010). Experimental infection model for Johne’s disease using a lyophilised, pure culture, seedstock of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. Veterinary Microbiology 141: 301-311.

Windsor PA and Whittington RJ (2010). Evidence for age susceptibility of cattle to bovine Johne’s disease. The Veterinary Journal 184:37-44.

Bosward KL, Dhand NK, Begg DJ, Thompson PC, Emery DL and Whittington RJ (2010). Optimisation of a whole blood gamma interferon assay for the detection of sheep infected with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation. 22:210-217.

Hill AE, Dhungyel OP and Whittington RJ (2010). Diagnostic sampling strategies for virulent ovine footrot: simulating detection of Dichelobacter nodosus serogroups for bivalent vaccine formulation. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 95:127-136.

Whittington RJ and Waldron A (2010). Thermal profiles of domestically baked leg-of-lamb roasts and implications for microbiological safety. Food Control 21: 1087-1091.

Dhand NK, Sergeant E, Toribio JA, Whittington RJ (2010). Estimation of sensitivity and flock-sensitivity of pooled faecal culture for Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in sheep. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 95: 248-257.

Plain KM, Purdie AC, Begg DJ, de Silva K and Whittington RJ (2010). Toll-like receptor (TLR)6 and TLR1 differentiation in gene expression studies of Johne's disease. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 137, 142-148.

Dennis MM, Reddacliff LA and Whittington RJ (2010). Longitudinal study of clinicopathological features of Johne’s disease in sheep naturally exposed to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. Veterinary Pathology (in press)

Kawaji S, Zhong L and Whittington RJ (2010). Partial proteome of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis under oxidative and nitrosative stress. Veterinary Microbiology 145: 252-264.

Dukkipati VSR, Blair HT, Garrick DJ, Lopez-Villalobos N, Whittington RJ, Reddacliff LA, Eppleston J, Windsor P and Murray A (2010). Association of microsatellite polymorphisms with immune responses to a killed Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis vaccine in Merino sheep. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 58: 237-245.

Kennan RM, Wong W, Dhungyel OP, Han X, Wong D, Parker D, Rosado CJ, Law RH, McGowan S, Reeve SB, Levina V, Powers GA, Pike RN, Bottomley SP, Smith IA, Marsh I, Whittington RJ, Whisstock JC, Porter CJ and Rood JI (2010). The Subtilisin-Like Protease AprV2 Is Required for Virulence and Uses a Novel Disulphide-Tethered Exosite to Bind Substrates. PLoS Pathog 6:e1001210.

Hick P, Tweedie A and Whittington R (2010). Preparation of fish tissues for optimal detection of betanodavirus. Aquaculture 310:20-26.

Bower KL, Begg DJ and Whittington RJ (2011). Culture of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) from blood and extra-intestinal tissues in experimentally infected sheep. Veterinary Microbiology 147: 127-132.

de Silva K, Begg D and Whittington R (2011). The interleukin 10 response in ovine Johne’s disease. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 139:10-16.