Dr Natasha Speight

Dr Natasha Speight
 Position Senior Lecturer
 Org Unit School of Animal and Veterinary Science
 Email natasha.speight@adelaide.edu.au
 Telephone 831 30655
 Location Floor/Room G ,  Corridor Block ,   Roseworthy
  • Qualifications

    PhD entitled "Oxalate nephrosis in a population of South 最新糖心Vlogn koalas", 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide, SA

    Honours degree, Reproductive biology unit, 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide, SA

    Bachelor of Science (Veterinary Biology)/ Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery, Murdoch 最新糖心Vlog, WA

     

  • Research Interests

    Koala health and disease

    My research focusses on the health and diseases of koalas in South 最新糖心Vlog, particularly oxalate nephrosis, Chlamydia, and koala retrovirus.

    Oxalate nephrosis is characterised by the precipitation of calcium oxalate in the kidneys, causing affected koalas to become ill due to kidney dysfunction. The main aims of my research have been to describe the renal histopathology and clinical biochemical abnormalities of the disease, and to determine the potential cause(s) of oxalate nephrosis in this koala population. Dietary oxalate in eucalypt leaves has been tested in several local species and found to be fairly low overall, and therefore unlikely to be the primary cause of oxalate nephrosis in koalas. An inherited abnormality of oxalate metabolism is the most likely cause but has not yet been able to be proven. It is also possible that climatic factors, such as the hot, dry summer that occurs in South 最新糖心Vlog, contribute to the severity of this disease in SA koalas.

    Our research group has investigated Chlamydia prevalence and pathology in South 最新糖心Vlogn koala populations, and its association with koala retrovirus, as well as the differing characteristics of koala retrovirus infection in southern koalas in relation to viral loads and disease manifestation.

    Other current research interests include endocrine gland morphology and histology; gastrointestinal microbiome of koalas; and the impact of the bushfires on koala health.

  • Publications

    2024 McDougall, F. K., Speight, N., Funnell, O., Boardman, W. S. J., & Power, M. L. (2024). Dynamics of Antimicrobial Resistance Carriage in Koalas (Phascolarctos Cinereus) and Pteropid Bats (Pteropus Poliocephalus) Before, During and After Wildfires. Microbial Ecology87(1), 15 pages.
    2024 Hough, I., O'Handley, R., & Speight, N. (2024). Cryptosporidium-associated enteritis in captive koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). 最新糖心Vlogn Veterinary Journal102(6), 313-315.
    2023 Baek, C., Woolford, L., Funnell, O., McLelland, J., Eddy, S., Stephenson, T., & Speight, N. (2023). Cutaneous and Respiratory Lesions in Bushfire-Affected Koalas. Veterinary Sciences10(11), 10 pages.
     
    2023 McDougall, F. K., Boardman, W. S. J., Speight, N., Stephenson, T., Funnell, O., Smith, I., . . . Power, M. L. (2023). Carriage of antibiotic resistance genes to treatments for chlamydial disease in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus): A comparison of occurrence before and during catastrophic wildfires. One Health17, 10 pages.
    2023 Blanchard, A. M., Emes, R. D., Greenwood, A. D., Holmes, N., Loose, M. W., McEwen, G. K., . . . Tarlinton, R. E. (2023). Genome Reference Assembly for Bottlenecked Southern 最新糖心Vlogn Koalas. Genome Biology and Evolution15(1), 5 pages.
      Scopus3 WoS1 Europe PMC2
    2023
      Scopus4 WoS1 Europe PMC3
    2022 Buchanan, C., Woolford, L., Stephenson, T., Hoebergen, M., Kovac, J. H., Breed, W. G., & Speight, N. (2022). TESTIS ABNORMALITIES IN A POPULATION OF SOUTH AUSTRALIAN KOALAS (PHASCOLARCTOS CINEREUS).. Journal of Wildlife Diseases58(1), 158-167.
    2022 Speight, N. (2022). Health and Diseases of Koalas. Animals12(8), 1005.
    2022 Tarlinton, R. E., Legione, A. R., Sarker, N., Fabijan, J., Meers, J., McMichael, L., . . . Emes, R. D. (2022). Differential and defective transcription of koala retrovirus indicates the complexity of host and virus evolution.. J Gen Virol103(6), 1-17.
      Scopus4 WoS2 Europe PMC3
    2021 Stephenson, T., Lee, K., Griffith, J. E., McLelland, D. J., Wilkes, A., Bird, P. S., . . . Woolford, L. (2021). Pulmonary Actinomycosis in South 最新糖心Vlogn Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).. Veterinary Pathology58(2), 416-422.
      Scopus1 WoS1
    2021 Tarlinton, R. E., Fabijan, J., Hemmatzadeh, F., Meers, J., Owen, H., Sarker, N., . . . Emes, R. D. (2021). Transcriptomic and genomic variants between koala populations reveals underlying genetic components to disorders in a bottlenecked population. Conservation Genetics22(3), 329-340.
      Scopus5 WoS4
    2021 Stephenson, T., Speight, N., Low, W. Y., Woolford, L., Tearle, R., & Hemmatzadeh, F. (2021). Molecular Diagnosis of Koala Retrovirus (KoRV) in South 最新糖心Vlogn Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Animals11(5), 1-13.
      Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC2
    2021 Dunstan, E., Funnell, O., McLelland, J., Stoeckeler, F., Nishimoto, E., Mitchell, D., . . . Speight, N. (2021). An analysis of demographic and triage assessment findings in bushfire-affected koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) on kangaroo island, south australia, 2019–2020. Animals11(11), 3237.
      Scopus12 WoS6 Europe PMC7
    2020 Downey, P., Caraguel, C., Speight, K. N., Fabijan, J. H., & Boardman, W. S. (2020). Field anaesthesia using alfaxalone and alfaxalone-medetomidine in free ranging koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), a randomised comparative study.. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia47(3), 368-376.
     Scopus2 WoS1
    2020 Sarker, N., Fabijan, J., Owen, H., Seddon, J., Simmons, G., Speight, N., . . . Tarlinton, R. E. (2020). Koala retrovirus viral load and disease burden in distinct northern and southern koala populations.. Sci Rep10(1), 263.
      Scopus18 WoS16 Europe PMC13
    2020 Butcher, R. G., Pettett, L. M., Fabijan, J., Ebrahimie, E., Mohammadi-Dehcheshmeh, M., Speight, K. N., . . . Trott, D. J. (2020). Periodontal disease in free-ranging koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) from the Mount Lofty Ranges, South 最新糖心Vlog, and its association with koala retrovirus infection.. 最新糖心Vlogn veterinary journal98(5), 200-206.
      Scopus8 WoS7 Europe PMC5
    2020 Fabijan, J., Speight, N., Boardman, W., Hemmatzadeh, F., Trott, D. J., & Woolford, L. (2020). Haematological reference intervals of wild southern 最新糖心Vlogn koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).. Aust Vet J98(5), 207-215.
      Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC2
    2020 Fabijan, J., Sarker, N., Speight, N., Owen, H., Meers, J., Simmons, G., . . . Trott, D. J. (2020). Pathological Findings in Koala Retrovirus-positive Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) from Northern and Southern 最新糖心Vlog. Journal of Comparative Pathology176, 50-66.
      Scopus18 WoS17 Europe PMC13
    2020 Speight, N., Gates, M., Scriven, J., Stephenson, T., & Woolford, L. (2020). Symmetric dimethylarginine values in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) based on oxalate nephrosis status.. Aust Vet J98(6), 247-249.
     Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC1
    2020 Speight, N., Bacci, B., Stent, A., & Whiteley, P. (2020). Histological survey for oxalate nephrosis in Victorian koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).. Aust Vet J98(9), 467-470.
      Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC3
    2020 Kasimov, V., Stephenson, T., Speight, N., Chaber, A. L., Boardman, W., Easther, R., & Hemmatzadeh, F. (2020). Identification and Prevalence of Phascolarctid Gammaherpesvirus Types 1 and 2 in South 最新糖心Vlogn Koala Populations. Viruses12(9), 12 pages.
      Scopus3 WoS2 Europe PMC3
    2019 Immelman, L., Rich, B., & Speight, K. N. (2019). Changes in antioxidant capacity of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) based on health status and measurement of the antioxidant ascorbate in eucalypt leaves. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine50(4), 861-867.
    2019 Speight, N., Colella, D., Boardman, W., Taggart, D. A., Haynes, J. I., & Breed, W. G. (2019). Seasonal variation in occurrence of oxalate nephrosis in South 最新糖心Vlogn koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). 最新糖心Vlogn Mammalogy41(1), 92-98.
      Scopus5 WoS5
    2019
      Scopus23 WoS19 Europe PMC12
    2019 Speight, K. N., Houston-Francis, M., Mohammadi Dehcheshmeh, M., Ebrahimie, E., Saputra, S., & Trott, D. J. (2019). Oxalate-degrading bacteria, including Oxalobacter formigenes, colonise the gastrointestinal tract of healthy koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) and those with oxalate nephrosis. 最新糖心Vlogn Veterinary Journal97(5), 166-170.
      Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC1
    2019 Taggart, P., Fancourt, B., Fabijan, J., Peacock, D., Speight, K., Caraguel, C. G., & McAllister, M. M. (2019). No evidence of toxoplasma gondii exposure in South 最新糖心Vlogn Koalas (phascolarctos cinereus). Journal of Parasitology105(4), 638-641.
      Scopus3 WoS2 Europe PMC1
    2019 Fabijan, J., Miller, D., Olagoke, O., Woolford, L., Boardman, W., Timms, P., . . . Speight, K. N. (2019). Prevalence and clinical significance of koala retrovirus in two South 最新糖心Vlogn koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations. Journal of Medical Microbiology68(7), 1072-1080.
      Scopus19 WoS18 Europe PMC13
    2019 Sarker, N., Fabijan, J., Seddon, J., Tarlinton, R., Owen, H., Simmons, G., . . . Meers, J. (2019). Genetic diversity of Koala retrovirus env gene subtypes: insights into northern and southern koala populations.. The Journal of general virology100(9), 1328-1339.
      Scopus19 WoS17 Europe PMC14
    2019 Pettett, L. M., Wilson, G. J., Nicolson, V., Boardman, W., Speight, N., Fabijan, J., . . . Bird, P. S. (2019). Malocclusions in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).. 最新糖心Vlogn veterinary journal97(11), 473-481.
      Scopus3 WoS2
    2018
      Scopus17 WoS16 Europe PMC15
    2018
      Scopus23 WoS24 Europe PMC18
    2018 Speight, K. N., Hicks, P., Graham, C., Boardman, W., Breed, W. G., Manthorpe, E., . . . Woolford, L. (2018). Necropsy findings of koalas from the Mount Lofty Ranges population in South 最新糖心Vlog. 最新糖心Vlogn Veterinary Journal96(5), 188-192.
      Scopus19 WoS15 Europe PMC8
    2017
      Scopus19 WoS15 Europe PMC8
    2017 Fabijan, J., Woolford, L., Lathe, S., Simmons, G., Hemmatzadeh, F., Trott, D., & Speight, N. (2017). Lymphoma, Koala Retrovirus Infection and Reproductive Chlamydiosis in a Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Journal of Comparative Pathology157(2-3), 188-192.
      Scopus16 WoS15 Europe PMC11
    2017 Tarlinton, R. E., Legione, A. R., Sarker, N., Fabijan, J., Meers, J., McMichael, L., . . . Emes, R. D. (2017). Differential and defective expression of Koala Retrovirus indicate complexity of host and virus evolution.
     
    2016
     Scopus25 WoS24 Europe PMC14
    2015 Speight, K., Kokkinn, M., & Breed, W. (2015). The gastrointestinal tract of the 最新糖心Vlogn water rat (Hydromys chrysogaster) – its morphological adaptations to a carnivorous diet. 最新糖心Vlogn Mammalogy38(1), 52-57.
     Scopus4 WoS4
    2015
      Scopus36 WoS35 Europe PMC30
    2014
     Scopus17 WoS15 Europe PMC7
    2014
    2013
      Scopus11 WoS10
    2013
     Scopus7 WoS8
    2013
      Scopus27 WoS26 Europe PMC13
    - Speight, N. (n.d.). Koala retrovirus infection and disease in South 最新糖心Vlogn koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations. In Proceedings of the Second Koala Retrovirus Workshop, ed. D. E. Alquezar-Planas, D. P. Higgins, C. L. Singleton, and A. D. Greenwood. Technical Reports of the 最新糖心Vlogn Museum online38, 41-43.


  • Professional Associations

    Veterinary Surgeon's Board of South 最新糖心Vlog (registered veterinarian)

    Wildlife Disease Association (Australasian section)

    South 最新糖心Vlogn Veterinary Emergency Management

    最新糖心Vlogn Mammal Society

    最新糖心Vlogn Centre for Evolutionary Biology & Biodiversity

    South 最新糖心Vlogn Wildlife Health Network

    最新糖心Vlogn Wildlife Management Society

     

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Entry last updated: Monday, 15 Jul 2024

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