Prof Carolyn Gates staff profile picture

Contact details +6469518140

Prof Carolyn Gates

Professor

Doctoral Supervisor
School of Veterinary Science

I completed my veterinary degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 2010 concentrating in food animal production medicine and veterinary public health.  After a brief spell in private practice, I completed a PhD at the University of Edinburgh focusing on the use of national livestock movement databases to understand patterns of disease transmission and to develop novel approaches to disease control in the British cattle industry.  Prior to joining Massey University, I worked as a research consultant on a veterinary syndromic surveillance project at Texas A&M University and as a clinical staff veterinarian at two large animal shelters in Philadelphia.

Professional

Contact details

  • Ph: + 64 (06) 951 8140
    Location: 2.21, Veterinary Sciences Building
    Campus: Turitea

Research Expertise

Research Interests

My research focuses on understanding how routine management practices influence the spread of infectious diseases within and between livestock farms.  In particular, I am interested in:

  • monitoring routinely collected animal health information for trends that may indicate emerging farm and industry level disease concerns
  • evaluating the potential for diseases to spread between farms through the movements of personnel, vehicles, and equipment from livestock support services
  • modelling the impact of national animal health programmes on disease transmission dynamics and farm profitability
  • understanding the motivations behind farmers' decisions to participate in herd health improvement schemes
  • developing interactive software tools to facilitate knowledge exchange between academia and industry

Area of Expertise

Field of research codes
Agricultural And Veterinary Sciences (070000): Agricultural Production Systems Simulation (070103): Agricultural Systems Analysis and Modelling (070105): Agriculture, Land and Farm Management (070100): Animal Management (070203): Animal Production (070200): Animal Protection (Pests and Pathogens) (070205): Veterinary Epidemiology (070704): Veterinary Sciences (070700)

Research Projects

Completed Projects

Project Title: Understanding New Zealand’s Veterinary Capacity for National Disease Programmes

Date Range: 2022 - 2023

Funding Body: Ministry for Primary Industries

Project Team:

Project Title: Antimicrobial Stewardship: Surveillance, Research & Engagement (ASSURE) in New Zealand farm animal production systems (Clare Phythian)

Date Range: 2018 - 2023

Funding Body: Royal Society of New Zealand

Project Team:

Project Title: NSC - Project 2.1 - Biosecurity network interventions (NZ Biological Heritage National Science Challenge)

Date Range: 2015 - 2019

Funding Body: Lincoln University

Project Team:

Teaching and Supervision

Contact Supervisor

Completed Doctoral Supervision

Main Supervisor of:

  • 2020 - Jun Hee Han - Doctor of Philosophy
    Establishment of optimal control strategies to eliminate bovine viral diarrhoea in New Zealand
  • 2020 - Sabrina Greening - Doctor of Philosophy
    Integrating host population contact structure and pathogen whole-genome sequence data to understand the epidemiology of infectious diseases
  • 2019 - Mary Van Beest Van Andel - Doctor of Philosophy
    Extrapolating incomplete animal population and surveillance data for use in national disease control: Examples from Myanmar and New Zealand
  • 2018 - Arata Hidano - Doctor of Philosophy
    Optimising the use of new data streams for making epidemiological inferences in veterinary epidemiology

Co-supervisor of:

  • 2024 - Rudolfo Bueno - Doctor of Philosophy
    Development and validation of a field deployable test for the diagnosis of high-priority infectious animal diseases in New Zealand
  • 2020 - Danchen Yang - Doctor of Philosophy
    Epidemiological studies of bovine digital dermatitis in pasture-based dairy system in New Zealand