Stephen D. Cole, VMD, DACVM
Stephen Cole (he/him) is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists and his specialties include clinical bacteriology/mycology and antimicrobial therapy. He is the Director of Penn Vet’s Clinical Infectious Disease Laboratory. Dr. Cole’s research focuses on combating the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) between people and animals. His work characterizes the clinical and molecular epidemiology of AMR in pets and defines best practices for antimicrobial stewardship. He developed and leads Penn Vet’s innovative of Clouds and Clocks course and teaches bacteriology, diagnostics and antibiotic pharmacology. He has received numerous teaching awards and is a AAVMC One Health Scholar. Find out more about the CREATE Project.
Cole SD, Peak L, Tyson GH, Reimschuessel R, Ceric O, Rankin SC. New Delhi Metallo-β-Lactamase-5-Producing Escherichia coli in Companion Animals, United States. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020 Feb;26(2):381-383. doi: 10.3201/eid2602.191221.
Cole SD, Elliott ER, Rankin SC. Teaching Tip-SODAPOP: A Metacognitive Mnemonic Framework to Teach Antimicrobial Selection. J Vet Med Educ. 2021 Jun;48(3):263-266. doi: 10.3138/jvme.2019-0066
Harvey B, Tarrant J, McClosky M, Nathanson O, Cole SD. Enterococcus sp. Meningoencephalitis, Ventriculitis, and Hypophysitis in a Dog. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2021 Nov 1;57(6):290-293. doi: 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-7112.
Cole SD, Rankin SC. Characterization of 2 Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales isolated from canine rectal swabs. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2021 Dec 21:10406387211065501. doi: 10.1177/10406387211065501.
Cole SD, Harvey BK, Shea E, Bradley CW. Amycolatopsis spp. infection with correlative histopathological findings from the paw of a cat. Vet Dermatol. 2022 Apr;33(2):174-176.
Cole SD, Swiderski M, Dietrich J and K M McGonigle. Comparison of a Chromogenic Urine Culture Plate System (UTId+) and Conventional Urine Culture for Canine and Feline Specimens. Vet Sci 2022 Mar 9(138): 1-9. https://doi.org/0.3390/vetsci9030138
Cole SD, Perez-Bonilla D, Hallowell A, Redding LE. Carbapenem prescribing at a veterinary teaching hospital before an outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli. J Small Anim Pract. 2022 Jun;63(6):442-446. doi: 10.1111/jsap.13481.
Cole SD, Healy I, Dietrich JM, Redding LE. Evaluation of canine raw food products for the presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase- and carbapenemase-producing bacteria of the order Enterobacterales. Am J Vet Res. 2022 Jul 11;83(9):ajvr.21.12.0205. doi: 10.2460/ajvr.21.12.0205.
Lake KM, Rankin SC, Rosenkrantz WS, Sastry L, Jacob M, Campos DD, Maddock K, Cole SD. In vitro efficacy of 0.2% and 0.4% sodium oxychlorosene against meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. Vet Dermatol. 2023 Feb;34(1):33-39. doi: 10.1111/vde.13121.
Citron LE, Cain CL, Dietrich J, Cole SD. Genomic and clinical case characterisation of Staphylococcus haemolyticus isolated from dogs and cats in the United States, including strains with high-level mupirocin tolerance. Vet Dermatol. 2023 Aug;34(4):298-309. doi: 10.1111/vde.13154.
Redding LE, Reilly K, Radtke B, Bartholomew S, Cole SD. The potential role of veterinary technicians in promoting antimicrobial stewardship. BMC Vet Res. 2023 Sep 2;19(1):142. doi: 10.1186/s12917-023-03637-w.
Cole SD, Dietrich J, Rankin SC. Use of a chromogenic medium with and without selective enrichment to screen for carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) from canine and feline fecal specimens during an outbreak of NDM-5-producing Escherichia coli. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2024 Jan;36(1):124-127. doi: 10.1177/10406387231204560.
Dietrich J, LeCuyer TE, Hendrix GK, Burbick CR, Jacob ME, Byrne BA, Olsen K, Mitchell M, Ceric O, Lin R, Joneson J, Lintner M, Fox A, McClendon D, Alexander T, Joyce K, Byrd M, Clinton J, Snipes K, Peak L, Cole SD. Prevalence and molecular epidemiology of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales isolated from dog and cat faeces submitted to veterinary laboratories in the USA. Zoonoses Public Health. 2024 Aug;71(5):538-548. doi: 10.1111/zph.13144.
Harvey S, McEntee E, Cole SD. Bacterial Prostatitis Secondary to Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis in an Immunocompetent Dog. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2024 Sep 1;60(5):202-206. doi: 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-7428.
Price ER, McDermott D, Sherman A, Kelley L, Mehr J, Greeley R, Cole SD. Canine Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cases Linked to Human Artificial Tears-Related Outbreak. Emerg Infect Dis. 2024 Dec;30(12):2689-2691. doi: 10.3201/eid3012.240085.
DeStefano I, Fellman CL, Bergeron AC, Golato LM, Doron S, Cumming M, Brown CM, Leaf J, Dietrich J, Wagner R, Cole SD. Effective mitigation of an outbreak of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli infections in a small animal veterinary teaching hospital. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2025 Feb 26;263(7):1-10. doi: 10.2460/javma.24.09.0572.
Desai D, Cole SD. Complete genome sequences of two verona integron-encoded metallo-ß-lactamase (VIM)-producing enterobacterales isolated from dogs in the United States. Microbiol Resour Announc. 2025 Mar 11;14(3):e0089224. doi: 10.1128/mra.00892-24.
Holzman RM, Hsieh E, Dietrich J, Cline K, Dale JL, Wagner R, Vagnone PS, Kollmann L, Cole SD. Veterinary hospital environments contain carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales with clonal spread between facilities (Philadelphia, PA, 2022-2023). Am J Vet Res. 2025 Mar 28:1-11. doi: 10.2460/ajvr.25.01.0024.
Cole SD, Burbick CR, Daniels JB, Diaz-Campos D, Winget J, Dietrich JM, LeCuyer TE. A Multicenter Evaluation of a Metacognitive Framework for Antimicrobial Selection Education. J Vet Med Educ. 2025 Jun;52(3):381-392. doi: 10.3138/jvme-2023-0163.
Garcia LC, Dietrich J, Watson B, Reinhard CL, Cole SD. Confirmation of Efficacy of Commonly Used Veterinary Surface Disinfectants Against Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacterales Isolated from Pets. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2025 Jul 1;61(4):83-89. doi: 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-7440.
Cole SD, Rankin SC. Characterization of 2 Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales isolated from canine rectal swabs J Vet Diagn Invest : , 2022.
Cole SD, Perez-Bonilla D, Hallowell A, Redding LE. Carbapenem prescribing at a veterinary teaching hospital before an outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli J Small Anim Pract : , 2022.
Waltenburg MA, Shugart A, Loy JD, Tewari D, Zhang S, Cole SD; CRO Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Investigation Group, Walters MS, Nichols M. A Survey of Current Activities and Technologies Used to Detect Carbapenem Resistance in Bacteria Isolated from Companion Animals at Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories-United States, 2020 J Clin Microbiol 60: e0215421, 2022.
Cole SD, Harvey BK, Shea E, Bradley CW. Amycolatopsis spp. infection with correlative histopathological findings from the paw of a cat Vet Dermatol : , 2022.
Cole SD, Swiderski M, Dietrich J, McGonigle KM. Comparison of a Chromogenic Urine Culture Plate System (UTid+) and Conventional Urine Culture for Canine and Feline Specimens Vet Sci 9: 138, 2022.
Cole SD, Nelson HCM, Jenkins BD, Poon CY, Rankin SC, Becker DE. PennDemic Simulation Framework: An Innovative Approach to Increase Student Interest and Confidence in Disasters Preparedness/Response and Interdisciplinary Teamwork Front Public Health 9: 682112, 2021.
Lavigne SH, Cole SD, Daidone C, Rankin SC. Risk Factors for the Acquisition of a blaNDM-5 Carbapenem-Resistant Escherichia coli in a Veterinary Hospital J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 57: , 2021.
Cole SD, Elliott ER, Rankin SC. SODAPOP: A Metacognitive Mnemonic Framework to Teach Antimicrobial Selection J Vet Med Educ : , 2021.
Cole SD, Peak L, Tyson GH, Reimschuessel R, Ceric O, Rankin SC. New Delhi Metallo-ß-Lactamase-5-Producing Escherichia coli in Companion Animals, United States Emerg Infect Dis : , 2020.
Dr. Cole’s research centers on understanding and mitigating the transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria between companion animals and humans, with a focus on advancing One Health approaches to infectious disease diagnosis and control. He has a particular passion of Gram-negative β-lactamases.
University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (2015 to 2018)
Post-Doctoral Fellow in Clinical and Molecular Microbiology
Clinical Specialties:
Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, Antimicrobial Therapy and Selection, Infectious Diseases
Hospital & Services:
Education:
VMD (Veterinary Medicine) University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine, 2015;
MS (Microbiology) College of William and Mary, 2011
Board Certification:
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Microbiology (Bacteriology/Mycology, Immunology, Virology)
Contact:
University of Pennsylvania
School of Veterinary Medicine
3800 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104