Martin K. Nielsen, DVM, PhD, DipEVPC

Gluck Equine Research Center
Department of Veterinary Science
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40546-0099

E-mail:martin.nielsen@uky.edu
Phone: (859) 218-1103
Fax: (859) 257-8542

Equine Parasitology

Mission statement: Providing solutions for equine parasite control.

My research is focused on methods for diagnosis and control of equine parasites of veterinary importance.

Increasing levels of anthelmintic resistance developing in equine strongyle and ascarid type parasites have created more need for research in equine parasites than ever.

Curriculum vitae | PI's Background | Current Research Projects | Current Publications | In The News

• Handbook of Equine Parasite Control, Reinemeyer CR, Nielsen MK. Wiley-Blackwell, John Wiley & Sons Inc. 2012.

• New - AAEP Parasite Control Guidelines - Revised 2013 (pdf)

Drug classes available for equine parasite control are few, and it remains unknown when and if the pharmaceutical industry will introduce new drug classes with new modes of action. We have learned that traditional approaches for parasite control have failed, but we have not yet defined the parasite control regimen that prevents parasitic disease in horses without leading to drug resistance in their parasites.

Current recommendations are turning away from calendar-based treatments to treatment decisions based on parasite surveillance and diagnosis. This makes huge demands to the reliability of the diagnostic methods available.

Research in my laboratory is therefore focused on the following:

• New and improved diagnostic methods for important equine parasites.

• Mechanisms of anthelmintic resistance and methods for accurate detection of resistance in parasite populations.

• Development of sustainable strategies for equine parasite control.

• Epidemiological studies aiming at understanding transmission patterns, host-parasite dynamics and the impact on equine health.