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Bernadette Earley

Research Officer

Research Interests

  • Dairy-beef calf management practices and their impacts on animal health and performance
  • Predisposing factors for disease and immune-competence in artificially-reared dairy and suckled beef calves from birth to weaning
  • Effect of housing characteristics (floor type, underfoot conditions, space allowance etc) on animal welfare and performance of finishing beef cattle
  • Transcriptomic and immunological characterisation of colostrum from dairy and beef cows with implications for calf health and welfare
  • Characterisation of the welfare and performance responses of calves to disbudding and castration procedures
  • Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) pathogen diagnostics using next generation sequencing
  • Identification of DNA based biomarkers for susceptibility to BRD

Current Projects

  • Application of next generation sequencing for the identification of DNA based biomarkers in regulatory regions of the genome for susceptibility to bovine  respiratory disease complex (US – Ireland Tri-partite funded project) Co-PI with Prof. Sinead Waters
  • Beef cattle housing - (PI – Dr. Bernadette Earley)
  • Behaviours for Safer Farming – BeSafe - DAFM Funded project – (Co-PI with Dr. David Meredith)
  • Recent advances in sequencing technologies to characterize the respiratory microbiome and virome associated with Bovine Respiratory Disease (US – Ireland Tri-partite funded project) (PI – Dr. Bernadette Earley)
  • Management effects on microbiomes at multiple body sites which are beneficial to animal health (Co-PI with Prof. Sinead Waters).
  • An evaluation of dairy-beef calf management practices and their impacts on animal health and performance (Co-PI with Prof. David Kenny).

Education

B.Sc. (Biochemistry), H.Dip. in Ed., Ph.D. (Pharmacology)

Professional Membership

Dr.Earley is a member of the:

  • Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council (FAWAC – DAFM);
  • British Association for Psychopharmacology;
  • European Society for Neurochemistry;
  • Society for Neuroscience (U.S.A.);
  • International Society for Behavioural Neuroscience (U.S.A.);
  • American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) USA;.
  • British Society of Animal Science (BSAS);
  • American Association of Veterinary Immunologists (USA);
  • Conference of Research workers in Animal disease (CRWAD, USA).

 

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9772-2813

Most Recent – selected Publications (2023-2021)

  • O’Donoghue. S., Earley, B., Johnston, D., McCabe, M.S., KIM, J., Taylor, J.F., Duffy, C., Lemon, K., Mcmenamy, M., Cosby, S.L., Morris, D.W., Waters, S.M. 2023. Whole blood transcriptome analysis in dairy calves experimentally challenged with Bovine Herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) and comparison to a Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV) challenge. Front. Genet. Sec. Livestock Genomics, 14 - 2023  https://doi: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1092877
  • Ní Dhufaigh, K., McCabe, M., Cormican,P., Cuevas-Gomez, I., McGee, M., McDaneld, T., Earley, B. 2023. Genome sequence of an ungulate tetraparvovirus 1 from a nasal swab of an Irish beef-suckler calf. Microbiology Resource Announcements, https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00911-22
  • Earley, B., Buckham-Sporer, KB, O’Loughlin, A. Johnston, D. 2023. Book chapter (Springer 2023) Book: Cattle Welfare in Dairy and Beef Systems. Chapter Title : Assessing Cattle Welfare: Physiology and Immunology. Physiological and Immunological Tools and Techniques for the Assessment of Cattle Welfare. 10.1007/978-3-031-21020-4
  • McGettigan, C.E., McGee, M., O'Riordan, E.G., Kelly, A.K., Earley, B. 2022. Effect of concrete slats versus rubber-covered slats on the performance, behaviour, hoof health, cleanliness of finishing beef steers and performance, cleanliness and hoof health of weanling cattle, Livestock Science, 105106, ISSN 1871-1413, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2022.105106.
  • Ní Dhufaigh, K., McCabe, M., Cormican,P., Cuevas-Gomez, I., McGee, M., McDaneld, T., Earley, B. 2022. Genome Sequence of Bovine Coronavirus Variants from the Nasal Virome of Irish Beef suckler and Pre-weaned Dairy Calves Clinically Diagnosed with Bovine Respiratory Disease.  Microbiology Resource Announcements, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mra.00821-22
  • Lawrence, P., McGee, M., Earley, B. 2022. Animal welfare index: an animal welfare evaluation of beef production farms in Ireland. Journal of Applied Animal Research, 50:1, 643-655, https://doi: 10.1080/09712119.2022.2126478
  • Esnault, G.; Earley, B.; Cormican, P.; Waters, S.M.; Lemon, K.; Cosby, S.L.; Lagan, P.; Barry, T.; Reddington, K.; McCabe, M.S. 2022. Assessment of Rapid MinION Nanopore DNA Virus Meta-Genomics Using Calves Experimentally Infected with Bovine Herpes Virus-1. Viruses 2022, 14, 1859. https://doi.org/10.3390/v14091859
  • Boyle, L., Conneely, M., Kennedy, E., O’Connell, N., Earley, B. 2022. Animal welfare research – progress to date and future prospects. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research. Perspectives Paper https://doi: 10.15212/ijafr-2020-0151 IJAFR 2021 pages 1-22.
  • Nielsen, SS, Alvarez, J, Bicout, DJ, Calistri, P, Canali, E, Drewe, JA, Garin-Bastuji, B, Gonzales Rojas, JL, Gortazar Schmidt, C, Michel, V, Miranda Chueca, MA, Padalino, B, Pasquali, P, Roberts, HC, Spoolder, H, Stahl, K, Velarde, A, Viltrop, A, Winckler, C, Earley, B, Edwards, S, Faucitano, L, Marti, S, Miranda de La Lama, GC, Nanni Costa, L, Thomsen, PT, Ashe, S, Mur, L, Van der Stede, Y and Herskin, M, 2022. EFSA AHAW Panel (EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare),  Scientific Opinion on the welfare of pigs during transport. EFSA Journal 2022; 20 (9):7445, 108 pp. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7445
  • Nielsen, SS, Alvarez, J, Bicout, DJ, Calistri, P, Canali, E, Drewe, JA, Garin-Bastuji, B, Gonzales Rojas, JL, Gortázar Schmidt, C, Michel, . V, Miranda Chueca, MA, Padalino, B, Pasquali, P, Roberts, HC, Spoolder, H, Stahl, K, Velarde, A, Viltrop, A, Winckler, C, Earley, B, Edwards, S, Faucitano, L, Marti, S, de La Lama, GCM, Costa, LN, Thomsen, PT, Ashe, S, Mur, L, Van der Stede, Y and Herskin, M, 2022. EFSA AHAW Panel (EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare), Scientific Opinion on the welfare of cattle during transport. EFSA Journal 2022; 20 (9):7442, 121 pp. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7442.
  • Nielsen, SS, Alvarez, J, Bicout, DJ, Calistri, P, Canali, E, Drewe, JA, Garin-Bastuji, B, Gonzales Rojas, JL, Gortázar Schmidt, C, Michel, V, Miranda Chueca, MA, Padalino, B, Pasquali, P, Roberts, HC, Spoolder, H, Stahl, K, Velarde, A, Viltrop, A, Winckler, C, Earley, B, Edwards, S, Faucitano, L, Marti, S, Miranda de La Lama, GC, Nanni Costa, L, Thomsen, PT, Ashe, S, Mur, L, Van der Stede, Y and Herskin, M, 2022. EFSA AHAW Panel (EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare), Scientific Opinion on the welfare of equidae during transport. EFSA Journal 2022; 20 (9):7444, 113 pp. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7444.
  • Nielsen, SS, Alvarez, J, Bicout, DJ, Calistri, P, Canali, E, Drewe, JA, Garin-Bastuji, B, Gonzales Rojas, JL, Gortázar Schmidt, C, Michel, V, Miranda Chueca, MA, Padalino, B, Pasquali, P, Roberts, HC, Spoolder, H, Stahl, K, Velarde, A, Viltrop, A, Winckler, C, Earley, B, Edwards, S, Faucitano, L, Marti, S, Miranda de La Lama, GC, Nanni Costa, L, Thomsen, PT, Ashe, S, Mur, phanie O’DonoghueL, Van der Stede, Y and Herskin, M, 2022. EFSA AHAW Panel (EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare), Scientific Opinion on the welfare of small ruminants during transport. EFSA Journal 2022; 20 (9):7404, 101 pp. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7404
  • Earley, B. 2022. Chapter 4: Beef Cattle and Veal Calves. Management and Welfare of Farm Animals: The UFAW Farm Handbook, 6th edition. John Webster © 2021 by Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW).
  • Mee, J.F., Barrett, D., Silva Boloña, P., Conneely, M., Earley, B., Fagan, S., Keane, O.M., Lane, E.A. 2022. Ruminant health research – progress to date and future prospects, with an emphasis on Irish research. Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research. Perspectives Paper https://doi: 10.15212/ijafr-2020-0150.
  • Rhodes V, Ryan EG, Hayes CJ, McAloon C, O'Grady L, Hoey S, Mee JF, Pardon B, Earley B, McAloon CG. 2021. Diagnosis of respiratory disease in preweaned dairy calves using sequential thoracic ultrasonography and clinical respiratory scoring: Temporal transitions and association with growth rates. J Dairy Sci. 104 (10):11165-11175. https://doi: 10.3168/jds.2021-20207
  • Cuevas-Gómez, I., McGee, M., Sánchez Gómez, J.M., O'Riordan, E.G., Byrne, N., McDaneld, T.G., Earley, B. 2021. Association between clinical respiratory signs, lung lesions detected by thoracic ultrasonography and growth performance in pre-weaned dairy calves. Irish Veterinary Journal 74, 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-021-00187-1
  • Marquette, G.A., McGee, M., Stanger, K., Fisher, A.D., Earley, B. 2021. Horn bud size of dairy-bred and suckler-bred calves at time of disbudding. Irish Veterinary Journal. 74:17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-021-00196-0
  • Johnston, D., Earley,B., McCabe, M.S., Kim, J., Taylor,J.F., Lemon, K., Mcmenamy, M., Duffy, C., Cosby, S.L., Waters, S.M. 2021. Elucidation of the host bronchial lymph node miRNA transcriptome response to bovine respiratory syncytial virus. Frontiers in Genetics. 22;12:633125. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2021.633125
  • Johnston, D., Kim, J., Taylor, J.F., Earley, B., McCabe, M.S., Lemon, K., Duffy, C., McMenamy, M., Cosby, S.L., Waters, S.M. 2021.  ATAC-Seq identifies regions of open chromatin in the bronchial lymph nodes of dairy calves experimentally challenged with Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus BMC Genomics, 22, Article number: 14. https://doi: 10.1186/s12864-020-07268-5
  • Johnston, D.J., Earley, B., McCabe, M.S., Kim, J. Taylor, J.T., Lemon, K., Duffy, C., McMenamy, M., Cosby, S.L., Waters, S.M. 2021.  Messenger RNA biomarkers of Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus infection in the whole blood of dairy calves. Scientific reports. 11, 9392. https://doi:10.1038/s41598-021-88878-1

Post-graduate students

Primary Supervisor

  • Niamh Woods;  a), Behaviours for Safer Farming – BeSafe - DAFM Funded project
  • Noeleen Brereton; b), Behaviours for Safer Farming – BeSafe - DAFM Funded project
  • Rischi Robinson;  An evaluation of dairy-beef calf management practices and their impacts on animal health and performance  

Co-Supervisor

  • Stephanie O’Donoghue; Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) diagnostics 
  • Sabine Scully; Ruminant microbiomes and sustainable production