Associate ProfessorMary Thompson

My first major research theme is diagnosis and management of disease in dogs and cats, with a particular interest in urinary tract medicine. My current and proposed projects/partnerships include:

-              Collaboration with Zoetis USA, the Royal Veterinary College London, the University of Queensland and VetCompass UK and USA to examine chronic kidney disease in dogs with a major emphasis on survival following diagnosis and risk factors for development of disease. This project funds a post-doctoral student, Dr Aruna Shrestha.

-              Collaboration with the genetics group and the Anstee Hub for Inherited Diseases in Animals (AHIDA). I currently have a master’s student, Dr Maddie Roberts, enrolled to examine prevalence of the ABCB1 gene in Australian cats. 

-              Collaboration with Animal Diabetes Australia and The University of Florida to enrol the first American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Fellowship candidate in Diabetes outside of the United States of America. This is a 2-year program and it is envisaged that the candidate would also be enrolled in a part-time PhD. A key focus will be the role of the caregiver in chronic management of diabetes in small animals.

-              I have an internal funds grant to work with one of my colleagues in the UVTHS on use of cannabinoids as a treatment for cats with obstructive urethral disease related to feline idiopathic cystitis and this should commence in 2026.

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My second major research theme is microbiology and host pathogen relationships, largely in bacterial disease and of the urinary tract. I am work closely with the microbiologists at SSVS and am a member of the one Health Phage Laboratory. My role in the work will be the recruitment of cases of multidrug-resistant bacterial infection that are suitable for phage therapy.