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Scholarship assists identification of predisposition to mastitis

For the past three years, the study of mastitis has been a major focus in the life of PhD student Nicoline van Loenen

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For the past three years, the study of mastitis has been a major focus in the life of PhD student Nicoline van Loenen leading to the development of a model which could identify biological or genetic markers associated with mastitis and which can simulate disease profiles.

Being the recipient of a Livestock Improvement (LIC) Patrick Shannon, LIC PhD Scholarship, allowed Nicoline van Loenen to develop a model that simulates medication and treatments for mastitis, generating greater knowledge of the effectiveness of traditional management practices.

The LIC Patrick Shannon Scholarship Programme bears the name of one of the most remarkable and innovative, multiple award winning, bovine geneticists and reproductive biologists in the world. Patrick Shannon joined Livestock Improvement in the mid 1950s and over the ensuing 50+ years contributed numerous world-breaking discoveries which contributed to the vitality and profitability of the New Zealand dairy industry

Nicoline says without the Shannon Scholarship she would not have been able to consider doing a PhD.

"Without the support of LIC and its Scientist and Genomics Research Leader, Richard Spelman and Dr Pat Shannon, I would have never been able to study for my PhD - as with most families, we still have a mortgage to pay.

"The scholarship gave me a second chance at academia, an amazing and rare opportunity and I am very grateful."

Nicoline said she first learned about the Patrick Shannon LIC, PhD scholarship while studying for her Masters - looking at the relationship between genetics/genes and lameness in cattle - at Lincoln University. When Dr Richard Spelman visited Lincoln University, Nicoline took the opportunity to meet and discuss the scholarship with him - and says applying, and becoming the recipient of it, was truly life changing.

In 2007 Nicoline travelled to Dummerstorf in Germany where she analysed time series Affymetrix micro array chip experiments (DNA/gene expression data), the results of which were used to develop a computational model of the behaviour of the gene NFkB in relation to E coli and S Aureus mastitis.

As a result of that research, in June 2007, Nicoline presented her paper, "Use of cDNA Micro arrays to investigate gene regulation in mastitis as a result of Escherichia coli infection in the bovine mammary gland" at the joint Annual conference of New Zealand Society of Animal Production and Biennial Conference for the Australian Society of Animal Production at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

In August/September, with support from the scholarship, Nicoline participated in the 10th International Conference on Systems Biology, held in Stanford, California. During the six day conference she presented some of her work, "A Systems Biology Approach to Mastitis" in a poster format.

"I was also able to participate in a five day international workshop on Mathematical Biology at the Mathematical Bio sciences Institute in Columbus Ohio, USA," says Nicoline.

"My abstract was chosen to be presented as a poster during the event which led to discussions with other mathematical biologists and through this I gained a deeper insight into my own work.

"In depth discussion with a large number of researchers and scientists working in my own and closely related fields from around the world has been very important to my work and research, and has also provided me with the opportunity to make valuable contacts."

Originally from Holland Nicoline and husband Eddo immigrated to New Zealand in 1993. Nicoline left her successful career as a consultant and project manager with Leiden University, the European Space Agency (TNO) and other large international commercial institutes behind, to milk cows in Canterbury, New Zealand.

"For my first eight years in New Zealand I worked in the dairy industry, both on farm and in a teaching capacity."

Sixteen years later, Nicoline is in the final stages of her PhD in Systems Biology at Lincoln University and says following the completion of her study, "and after a long break" she wants a career combining her biological and mathematical skills.

She says she wants to utilise the skills and knowledge she has gained, due to no small part, by the "amazing opportunity" provided by dairy farmer-owned co-operative, LIC, to benefit the New Zealand dairy industry and its farmers.

"If possible I would like to use the integration between the biological, science and mathematical skills and knowledge I have gained at Lincoln University and during my PhD work to become a scientist in the dairy industry or a dairy related industry."

The model allows Nicoline to design an experiment with the best optimal outcome - "it gives us the best information on how to understand diseases in more detail - it helps identify which particular genes or bio-markers to measure in connection with specific diseases."

She says the type of model she has designed would be similar to those used in the pharmaceutical industry and can be used for similar applications, "for example to estimate the concentration of medicine you need to give, or estimate and identify side effects."

In the case of mastitis Nicoline explained the model could identify biological or genetic markers associated with the disease and this in turn can lead to the development of medication and/or treatment for that disease.

"Using the model, we can simulate medication/treatments, simulate what will happen, and observe the effects of different types of medication, what they can do, what they can't do and learn if they can, or can't do what we expect."

Nicoline says her work on mastitis in bovines has implications for humans, and vice versa.

"Humans and bovines have very similar immune systems. One in five women suffer mastitis and the same thing could be happening in bovine mothers. There are different types of mastitis in dairy cows, some of which are resistant to antibiotics - the same applies in human mothers.

"By using the model to simulate gene expression in mastitis we can possibly identify effective treatments, for both humans and bovines and use the model to predict the effectiveness and/or possible side effects of potential treatments.

"The modelling skills I have developed can be applied to anything, I might help scientists in developing pharmaceuticals for mastitis, or use them for modelling whole farm systems/whole farm management, including feed trials and pasture management.

"We can test, create and simulate real on farm scenarios. What does a farmer do, for example if submission rates are late? What are the consequences of different actions he may take? The model will look at the whole, big picture and provide/predict outcomes resulting from any number of actions or different combinations of actions."