Dr Kristen Reyher 
Reader in Veterinary Epidemiology and Population Health | University of Bristol
Bristol, UNITED KINGDOM
Addressing One Health challenges - antimicrobial resistance and veterinary-farmer communication
Areas of Expertise (10)
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Farm Vets
Vet Communications
Livestock
Veterinary Epidemiology
Cattle Disease
Antibiotic Resistance
Farming
Farm Animal Health
Antimicrobial Risk
Biography
Dr Kristen Reyher is based in the Bristol Veterinary School. Her main areas of research are cattle disease (especially mastitis), veterinary-farmer communication and antimicrobial resistance, use and stewardship in farmed animals and across the One Health sphere. She combines her clinical expertise with the best in veterinary evidence using quantitative and qualitative research across the basic sciences, epidemiology and applied clinical practice. She leads the AMR Force, a £10-million funded interdisciplinary research group focussed on antimicrobial resistance, use and stewardship. One of her current research thrusts is an ambitious project designing a One Health data platform for antimicrobial resistance research.
Dr Reyher helps to share best practice between farmers and directed the first studies applying a counselling style called Motivational Interviewing to veterinarian-client communication. She has worked in livestock veterinary practice in three countries and has worked with farmers in various others including Argentina and Thailand. Her accomplishments include successfully organising the data collection platform for Canada’s largest livestock research effort through the Canadian Bovine Mastitis Research Network.
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Accomplishments (4)
UK Diagnostic Summit – Highly Commended Award for Research
2019
Veterinary Record Impact Award for publication
2019
Public Health England Antibiotic Guardian Awards – Winner
2019
Public Health England Antibiotic Guardian Awards – Winner
2018
Education (3)
University of Prince Edward Island: Ph.D., Epidemiology 2012
College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University: D.V.M., Veterinary Medicine 2002
University of Florida: B.Sc., Zoology 1998
Links (2)
Media Appearances (4)
Taking the fight to superbugs
Times Higher Education online
2020-04-28
One recent project spearheaded a method of farmer peer-to-peer learning, to try and change their behaviour with respect to antibiotics. “As a vet, I think about disease all day, every day,” Dr Reyher says. “I don’t think about the myriad things that farmers have to balance, but their peers do. They are the best people to listen and challenge one another to be the best stewards of these important medicines.”
Superbug hotspots emerging in farms across globe – study
The Guardian online
2019-09-19
Kristen Reyher, a reader in veterinary epidemiology at the University of Bristol, who was not involved in the study, said: “This highlights the importance of monitoring and surveillance of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens and antimicrobial use, in both human and animal populations. It is crucial to understand the reasons why these medicines are used in livestock systems, to address the drivers for use and transmission of antimicrobial resistance.”
Veterinary professionals need to change how they connect with their clients
PhysOrg online
2017-04-05
Dr Kristen Reyher, Senior Lecturer in Farm Animal Science, said: "This paper is one element of an exciting research project that will help inform and support our evolving veterinary profession. I'm confident that change can be achieved with the help of on-going research. Our interdisciplinary work is focused on whether Motivational Interviewing—an evidence-based communication method that fosters a mutualistic approach to conversations on behaviour change—can deliver the advances VetFutures imagine for our colleagues of the future.
£1.5m research grant allows scientists to test antibiotic resistance bacteria from cattle
FarmingUK online
2016-06-09
Dr Kristen Reyher, from the University’s School of Veterinary Sciences and lead of the cattle part of the project said: "We are working with farmers, veterinarians, retailers and government bodies to encourage responsible use of antibiotics.
Articles (5)
To change or not to change? Veterinarian and farmer perceptions of relational factors influencing the enactment of veterinary advice on dairy farms in the United Kingdom
J Dairy Sci2019 Achieving herd health and welfare improvement increasingly relies on cattle veterinarians to train and advise farmers, placing veterinary interactions at the heart of knowledge exchange. Cattle veterinarians recognize their influence and the need to be proactive advisors but struggle with acting upon this awareness in daily practice, reporting a need to enhance their advisory approach to inspire farmer behavior change.
Reduced antibacterial drug resistance and blaCTX-M β-lactamase gene carriage in cattle-associated Escherichia coli at low temperatures, at sites dominated by older animals and on pastureland
Applied and Environmental MicrobiologySchubert H, Findlay J, Morley K, Puddy EF, Arbon R, Gould VC, Mounsey O, Evans M, Rees GM, Barrett DC, Turner KM, Cogan TA, Avison MB, Reyher KK
2020-06-03
Little is known about the drivers of critically important antibacterial resistance in species with zoonotic potential present on farms (e.g. CTX-M ꞵ-lactamase-positive Escherichia coli). Here, we collected samples, monthly over a two-year period, on 53 dairy farms in the South West of England, and data for 610 variables concerning antimicrobial usage, management practices and meteorological factors.
Molecular epidemiology of E. coli producing CTX-M and plasmid AmpC type β-lactamases from dairy farms identifies a dominant plasmid
Applied and Environmental MicrobiologyFindlay J, Schubert H, Morley K, Mounsey O, Gould VC, Puddy EF, Cogan TA, Reyher KK, Avison MB
2020-12-17
Third-generation cephalosporin resistance (3GC-R) in Escherichia coli is a rising problem in human and farmed-animal populations. We conducted whole-genome sequencing analysis of 138 representative 3GC-R isolates previously collected from dairy farms in southwest England and confirmed by PCR to carry acquired 3GC-R genes.
Farmer Action Groups - A participatory, farmer-led approach to changing practices around antimicrobial use on UK farms
Journal of Dairy ScienceMorgans L, Bolt S, Bruno-McClung E, van Dijk L, Escobar MP, Buller HJ, Main DCJ, Reyher KK
2020-11-24
Farmer-led, participatory approaches are being increasingly employed in agricultural research, with promising results. This study aimed to understand how a participatory approach based on the Danish stable schools could help to achieve practical, farmer-led changes that reduced reliance on antimicrobials in the UK. Five facilitated farmer action groups comprising 30 dairy farms across South West England met on farm at regular intervals between 2016 and 2018, and worked collaboratively within their groups to discuss how to reduce antimicrobial use.
Ceasing the use of the highest priority critically important antimicrobials does not adversely affect production, health or welfare parameters in dairy cows
Vet RecTurner A, Tisdall DA, Barrett DC, Wood S, Dowsey A, Reyher KK
2018-07-13
Due to scientific, public and political concern regarding antimicrobial resistance (AMR), several EU countries have already taken steps to reduce antimicrobial (AM) usage in production animal medicine, particularly that of the highest priority critically important AMs (HP-CIAs). While veterinarians are aware of issues surrounding AMR, potential barriers to change such as concerns of reduced animal health, welfare or production may inhibit progress towards more responsible AM prescribing.
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