Julia Beatty

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Julia Beatty
Born
London
OccupationVeterinary researcher

Julia Beatty is a British-Australian veterinary researcher specialising in feline medicine clinical research and educating students of veterinary science.

Contents

Education

Born in London, Beatty attended the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, graduating with a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine in 1989. Captivated by cats from an early age, she obtained a PhD on the immune response to feline immunodeficiency virus from Oswald Jarrett's laboratory at the University of Glasgow in 1994. Beatty is a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons recognised clinical specialist in feline medicine. She has worked in both primary and referral veterinary hospitals and is currently Professor of Feline Medicine at the University of Sydney School of Veterinary Science.

Career

Beatty is best known for her research on viral diseases of cats, [1] particularly viral causes of cancer. [2] She initiated a collaboration with Sue VandeWoude and Ryan Troyer at Colorado State University that led to the discovery, jointly, of the first gammaherpesvirus of domestic cats, Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1. [3] [4] [5] Her research into this virus and other infectious diseases of small animals at the University of Sydney aims to improve the lives of pets and people.

Beatty was awarded the Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association's Award for Scientific Excellence in 2014 and a University of Sydney Thompson Fellowship in 2012. Her research has been funded by the Wellcome Trust, UK and the Morris Animal Foundation, US. [6] She has authored over 100 scientific publications and book chapters and has had over 50 abstract presentations at international conferences. She is a Fellow and past-President of the Feline Chapter of the Australia and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists. She is Associate Editor for Veterinary Medicine and Science peer-reviewed journal, published by Wiley.

Beatty is currently a Feline Internal Medicine Specialist at the Valentine Charlton Cat Centre, University Veterinary Teaching Hospital Sydney, where she performs clinical research into diseases of small animals. In her role as Professor, she is a lecturer in undergraduate small animal medicine, supervisor of final year veterinary student clinical rotations and post-graduate Masters and PhD students. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cat</span> Small domesticated carnivorous mammal

The cat, commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae. Recent advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the cat occurred in the Near East around 7500 BC. It is commonly kept as a house pet and farm cat, but also ranges freely as a feral cat avoiding human contact. It is valued by humans for companionship and its ability to kill vermin. Its retractable claws are adapted to killing small prey like mice and rats. It has a strong, flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth, and its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. It is a social species, but a solitary hunter and a crepuscular predator. Cat communication includes vocalizations like meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting as well as cat body language. It can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by small mammals. It also secretes and perceives pheromones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoonosis</span> Disease that can be transmitted from other species to humans

A zoonosis or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen that can jump from a non-human to a human and vice versa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University</span> Veterinary college in New York State

The New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University is a college of veterinary medicine at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. It was founded in 1894. It is the first statutory college of the State University of New York (SUNY) system.

<i>Feline immunodeficiency virus</i> Species of virus

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a Lentivirus that affects cats worldwide, with 2.5% to 4.4% of felines being infected.

The University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine is the largest veterinary school in the United States. Established in 1948, the school is the primary health resource for California's animal populations. In 2020, the school was again ranked first in the United States by U.S. News & World Report and in 2022, ranked second in the world by QS World University Rankings. The school is located in the southwest corner of the main campus of the University of California, Davis. The current dean of veterinary medicine is Dr. Mark Stetter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feral cat</span> Unowned or untamed domestic cat in the outdoors

A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat that lives outdoors and avoids human contact; it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens of generations and become an aggressive local apex predator in urban, savannah and bushland environments. Some feral cats may become more comfortable with people who regularly feed them, but even with long-term attempts at socialization, they usually remain aloof and are most active after dusk. Of the 700 million cats in the world, an estimated 480 million are feral.

<i>Feline leukemia virus</i> Species of virus

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is a retrovirus that infects cats. FeLV can be transmitted from infected cats when the transfer of saliva or nasal secretions is involved. If not defeated by the animal's immune system, the virus weakens the cat's immune system, which can lead to diseases which can be lethal. Because FeLV is cat-to-cat contagious, FeLV+ cats should only live with other FeLV+ cats.

<i>Carnivore protoparvovirus 1</i> Species of parvovirus

Carnivore protoparvovirus 1 is a species of parvovirus that infects carnivorans. It causes a highly contagious disease in both dogs and cats separately. The disease is generally divided into two major genogroups: FPV containing the classical feline panleukopenia virus (FPLV), and CPV-2 containing the canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) which appeared in the 1970s.

Chlamydia felis is a Gram-negative, obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that infects cats. It is endemic among domestic cats worldwide, primarily causing inflammation of feline conjunctiva, rhinitis and respiratory problems. C. felis can be recovered from the stomach and reproductive tract. Zoonotic infection of humans with C. felis has been reported. Strains FP Pring and FP Cello have an extrachromosomal plasmid, whereas the FP Baker strain does not. FP Cello produces lethal disease in mice, whereas the FP Baker does not. An attenuated FP Baker strain, and an attenuated 905 strain, are used as live vaccines for cats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwarf cat</span> Genetic mutation affecting cats

A dwarf cat is a domestic cat with dwarfism due to rare genetic mutations causing a disproportionate feline body and significant health problems. Unlike undersized cats of normal proportions, dwarf cats suffer from the genetic mutations osteochondrodysplasia and achondroplasia. These genetic disorders of bone and cartilage are typically manifested as abnormal bone shape, poor growth or lack of growth, bowing of the limbs to the side – front legs are more likely to be affected, and spinal malformations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cat health</span> Health of domestic cats

The health of domestic cats is a well studied area in veterinary medicine.

Feline vaccination is animal vaccination applied to cats. Vaccination plays a vital role in protecting cats from infectious diseases, some of which are potentially fatal. They can be exposed to these diseases from their environment, other pets, or even humans.

Daria Nina Love was an Australian veterinary microbiologist and educator. She was the first woman to be awarded the University of Sydney Medal for Veterinary Science and the first woman in the Faculty of Veterinary Science to be awarded a PhD (1973), for her thesis entitled ‘Studies on virus host-cell relationships of a feline calicivirus’. She was also the first woman to become an associate professor in the Faculty of Veterinary Science, although her bids to become a full professor were unsuccessful. In 1988, she became the first woman in Australia to be awarded a Doctor of Veterinary Science on the basis of her work on the “Biological Properties of some Microorganisms of Veterinary Importance”. Love was renowned for the advances made through her research in the areas of soft tissue infections, oral cavity disease and feline and equine respiratory infections. She received a Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) award for her outstanding contributions to equine research and the Australian Horse Industry in 2001.

Vanessa Rosemary Duke Barrs is a veterinary researcher in feline infectious diseases. Barrs established clinical research and specialist veterinary services at the Valentine Charlton Cat Centre within the University of Sydney where she is also Professor of Feline Medicine and Infectious Diseases. Barrs discovered Aspergillus felis, an environmental fungus that causes invasive, intractable disease in cats, dogs and humans. She is currently the BOCHK Chair Professor of Veterinary Medicine at City University of Hong Kongs Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences.

Sandra L. Quackenbush is an American virologist working as the associate dean of academic and student affairs and professor of retrovirology at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science. Her research interests include viral pathogenesis, with emphasis in viral-induced oncogenesis.

Feline foamy virus or Feline syncytial virus is a retrovirus and belongs to the family Retroviridae and the subfamily Spumaretrovirinae. It shares the genus Felispumavirus with only Puma feline foamy virus. There has been controversy on whether FeFV is nonpathogenic as the virus is generally asymptomatic in affected cats and does not cause disease. However, some changes in kidney and lung tissue have been observed over time in cats affected with FeFV, which may or may not be directly affiliated. This virus is fairly common and infection rates gradually increase with a cat's age. Study results from antibody examinations and PCR analysis have shown that over 70% of felines over 9 years old were seropositive for Feline foamy virus. Viral infections are similar between male and female domesticated cats whereas in the wild, more feral females cats are affected with FeFV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Thomas (academic)</span> Australian-New Zealand veterinary scientist and university administrator

Jan Thomas is a veterinary scientist and career academic. Thomas is currently the sixth vice-chancellor of Massey University, New Zealand.

Susan VandeWoude is an American veterinarian and researcher specializing in viral diseases of cats. She is currently serving as the Dean of Colorado State University's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Janet K. Yamamoto is an American immunologist. Yanamoto is a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Florida where she studies the spread of HIV/AIDS. In 1988, she co-developed a vaccine for the feline version of HIV with Niels C. Pederson and was subsequently elected to the National Academy of Inventors.

References

  1. "Challenges in prognostication of FIV-positive patients". The Veterinarian. July 2013.
  2. Beatty, JA (2002). "Feline immunodeficiency virus integration in B-cell lymphoma identifies a candidate tumor suppressor gene on human chromosome 15q15". The Journal of Cancer Research. 62: 7175.
  3. Beatty, JA (2014). "Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1: a widely endemic potential pathogen of domestic cats". Virology. 460–461: 100–107. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2014.05.007 . PMID   25010275.
  4. "Australian Veterinary Association". Australian Veterinary Association. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  5. "Gammaherpesvirus a potential pathogen in cats". The Veterinarian. 27 April 2021.
  6. "Staff Profiles". University of Sydney.
  7. "Faculty of Veterinary Science, Medicine Staff". University of Sydney. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.