KEY WORDS:
Salmonella, Staphylococcus schleiferi, Streptococcus, E. coli, antibiotic resistance, methicillin resistance, MRSA, MRSP, molecular diagnostics, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), LAMP, PCR, molecular epidemiology, One Health, skin microbiome, atopic dermatitis, molecular serotyping, genome sequencing, zoonoses, extended spectrum beta-lactamase genes (ESBL)
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My lab uses a One Health approach to study the molecular epidemiology of common bacterial pathogens of companion animals and horses. We focus primarily on discriminatory molecular typing methods to study the epidemiology of Staphylococcus species, Salmonella and E.coli We work with Staphylococcus schleiferi and S. aureus and have contributed to the veterinary dermatology community by characterizing strains that are commonly found in pets and humans. We recently published 4 whole genome sequences of S. schleiferi. We study methicillin resistant staphylococci in animals and the potential of these drug resistant pathogens to be transmitted to humans and vice versa. Skin microbiome studies with dogs that suffer from atopic dermatitis have shown that dogs are a good model for AD in children. Similar molecular methods are used to characterize Salmonella strains isolated from animals and molecular serotyping is use in the lab. We also study the mechanisms of transferable and non-transferable antimicrobial resistance genes of Salmonella and E.coli and have published some of the first reports of ESBL genes in isolates from animals. My research also includes the development, validation and verification of molecular diagnostic assays, for the diagnosis of infectious disease in animals. I am particularly interested in development of point-of-care assay and we have recently evaluated loop mediated isothermal PCR (LAMP) for the detection of Streptococcus equip in the guttural pouch of horses.
Head of Diagnostic Services and Chief of Clinical Microbiology at PennVet's Ryan Veterinary Hospital.
The PennVet Diagnostic Laboratories (microbiology, parasitology, clinical pathology, anatomic pathology) perform diagnostic testing on specimens obtained from a variety of animal species and each lab also has a research component. The Clinical Microbiology Lab is nationally and internationally renowned for our work with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species from companion animals and for the molecular epidemiology of Salmonella and E. coli. The lab uses Luminex technology for the molecular serotyping of Salmonella isolates and is developing bead-based multiplex diagnostic assays for pathogens. I am constantly seeking to improve diagnostic turnaround time and have an interest in developing rapid and point-of-care assays to detect infections in animals.
Rodriguez-Rivera Lorraine D, Cummings Kevin J, Loneragan Guy H, Rankin Shelley C, Hanson Devin L, Leone William M, Edrington Thomas S Salmonella Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Among Dairy Farm Environmental Samples Collected in Texas. Foodborne pathogens and disease 13: 205-11, 2016.Bradley Charles W, Morris Daniel O, Rankin Shelley C, Cain Christine L, Misic Ana M, Houser Timothy, Mauldin Elizabeth A, Grice Elizabeth A Longitudinal Evaluation of the Skin Microbiome and Association with Microenvironment and Treatment in Canine Atopic Dermatitis. The Journal of investigative dermatology : , 2016.Leahy A M, Cummings K J, Rodriguez-Rivera L D, Rankin S C, Hamer S A Evaluation of Faecal Salmonella Shedding Among Dogs at Seven Animal Shelters across Texas. Zoonoses and public health : , 2016.Boyle A G, Rankin S C, Duffee L, Boston R C, Wheeler-Aceto H Streptococcus equi Detection Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for Equine Nasopharyngeal and Guttural Pouch Wash Samples. Journal of veterinary internal medicine / American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine 30: 276-81, 2016.Kunder Darcie A, Cain Christine L, O'Shea Kathleen, Cole Stephen D, Rankin Shelley C Genotypic relatedness and antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus schleiferi in clinical samples from dogs in different geographic regions of the United States. Veterinary dermatology 26: 406-10, e94, 2015.Cummings K J, Rodriguez-Rivera L D, Grigar M K, Rankin S C, Mesenbrink B T, Leland B R, Bodenchuk M J Prevalence and Characterization of Salmonella Isolated from Feral Pigs Throughout Texas. Zoonoses and public health : , 2015.Davis Meghan F, Misic Ana M, Morris Daniel O, Moss John T, Tolomeo Pam, Beiting Daniel P, Nachamkin Irving, Lautenbach Ebbing, Rankin Shelley C Genome sequencing reveals strain dynamics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the same household in the context of clinical disease in a person and a dog. Veterinary microbiology 180: 304-7, 2015.Iverson S A, Brazil A M, Ferguson J M, Nelson K, Lautenbach E, Rankin S C, Morris D O, Davis M F Anatomical patterns of colonization of pets with staphylococcal species in homes of people with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) skin or soft tissue infection (SSTI). Veterinary microbiology 176: 202-8, 2015.Yue Min, Han Xiangan, De Masi Leon, Zhu Chunhong, Ma Xun, Zhang Junjie, Wu Renwei, Schmieder Robert, Kaushik Radhey S, Fraser George P, Zhao Shaohua, McDermott Patrick F, Weill François-Xavier, Mainil Jacques G, Arze Cesar, Fricke W Florian, Edwards Robert A, Brisson Dustin, Zhang Nancy R, Rankin Shelley C, Schifferli Dieter M Allelic variation contributes to bacterial host specificity. Nature communications 6: 8754, 2015.Misic Ana M, Cain Christine L, Morris Daniel O, Rankin Shelley C, Beiting Daniel P Complete Genome Sequence and Methylome of Staphylococcus schleiferi, an Important Cause of Skin and Ear Infections in Veterinary Medicine. Genome announcements 3: , 2015.
BSc (Hons) (Microbiology) University of Glasgow, 1988PhD (Molecular Epidemiology) University of Glasgow, 1996