Dr O'Connor has two main areas of research interest. The main area of focus has been understanding how researchers can use study design and review methodologies to better translate primary research findings into useful decision support tools. Primarily this work has focused on how to adopt and adapt the systematic review methodology used in clinical medicine to veterinary science and food safety. This area has resulted in several papers about how to review primary research in veterinary science and food safety. Further, this body of work has resulted in the production of the REFLECT statement (www.reflect-statement.org) which is a guide for authors, reviewers and editors on how to report intervention studies in a manner that increases their utility to end users including practitioners and risk assessors.

In the area of work that relates to the epidemiology of infectious disease that affect livestock populations, Dr O'Connor has focused on understanding the epidemiology and control of Pinkeye in beef cattle. Studies have included observational studies that evaluate the role of putative causal organism in Pinkeye and randomized field trials that evaluate the efficacy of vaccine designed to prevent Pinkeye occurrence.  Consistent with the theme of increasing translation of primary research for decision makers Dr O'Connor has also co-authored several reviews evaluating the treatment and control of Pinkeye.

The other organism of focus for Dr O'Connor has been the epidemiology of Salmonella in pork with emphasis on understanding pre-harvest control approaches.   Dr O'Connor has worked on several primary research studies that have evaluated the methods of detecting farms with a high risk of carrying Salmonella spp. into the slaughterhouse. Again, Dr O'Connor has also co-authored several reviews evaluating the treatment and control of Salmonella in the pre-harvest environment.

Dr O'Connor teaches primarily in the graduate curriculum. She teaches an introductory course for epidemiologists, and a course in applied logistic regression methods.

EDUCATION
BVSc                                                                University of Sydney    1993
MVSc                                                          University of Queensland    1997
DVSc                                                                University of Guelph     2000
Member of Australian College of Veterinary Scientists (Epidemiology)       2003
Fellow of Australian College of Veterinary Scientists (Epidemiology)          2009

 

•    O’Connor, A.M., Wellman, N.G., Evans, R.B., and Roth, D.R. 2007. A review of randomized clinical trials reporting corneal healing associated with antibiotic treatment of infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis. Animal Health Reviews, 7 (2) 1-9.
•    O’Connor, A.M., Reed, M.C., Denagamage, T.N, Yoon, K-J., Sorden, S.D., and Cooper, V.L. 2007. The prevalence of calves persistently infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus in 102 cow-calf herds in a voluntary screening project.  Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol. 230, No. 11, 1691-1696.
•    Evans R.B, Lukas K., O’Connor, A.M., and Reinertson E. 2007. Evidence-based Clinical Question: Are toe grabs a risk factor for catastrophic musculoskeletal injury in racehorses? Equine Veterinary Education  April 19(3):155-156(2).
•    Wellman, N.G., and O'Connor, A.M. 2007. Meta-analysis of treatment of cattle with bovine respiratory disease with tulathromycin. Veterinary Therapeutics, Jun;30 (3):234-41.
•    Burns, M.., and O’Connor, A.M. 2008. Assessment of methodological quality and source of variation in the magnitude of vaccine efficacy: a systematic review of studies from 1960 to 2005 reporting immunization with Moraxella bovis vaccines. Vaccine (26): 142-152.
•    Reed M.C., O'Connor A.M., Yoon K.J., Cooper V.L. Assessing the effect of sample handling on the performance of a commercial bovine viral diarrhea virus antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2008 Jan;20(1):124-6.
•    O'Connor A.M., Denagamage T, Sargeant J.M., Rajić A., McKean J. Feeding management practices and feed characteristics associated with Salmonella prevalence in live and slaughtered market-weight finisher swine: a systematic review and summation of evidence from 1950 to 2005.Prev Vet Med. 2008 Nov 17;87(3-4):213-28. Epub 2008 Jul 30.
 
•    O’Connor, A.M., Wellman, N.G., Rice, M., Funk, L. Evaluating the Quality of Reporting Randomized Clinical Trials for Antibiotic Treatment of Bovine Respiratory Disease: 1970-2005. in press JAVMA

 

Current service appointments

Graduate College Curriculum and Catalogue Committee (Chair)        2008-2010
Faculty Senate Curriculum and catalogue Committee (Member)        2008-2010
Graduate Council (Chair)                                                               2008-2010
Research Advisor Committee (Member)                                           2006-2010
Administraive Fellow (Advance Program)                                         2010