College of Veterinary Medicine

Education:

MS in Veterinary Science, University of Florida, 1973
DVM (with high honors), Auburn University, 1977
PhD, Veterinary Pathobiology-Parasitology, The Ohio State University, 1982

Honors and Awards:

Who's Who in Frontiers of Science and Technology, 1986
American Men and Women of Science, 1990
President, American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists, 1994-95

Research Interests:

Epidemiology and control of livestock helminths in tropical and subtropical regions; immunodiagnosis of canine dirofilariasis.
Prior to becoming a full time administrator, my major area of research was in the epidemiology and control helminth parasites of grazing livestock in the tropics and subtropics (Florida and the Caribbean). Use was made of both classical and molecular techniques to determine seasonal patterns of transmission of helminth parasites of cattle, small ruminants, horses, and exotic hoof stock in this region. The data so collected was then used to devise appropriate control programs based on the concept of strategic anthelmintic treatments. Targeted parasites included gastrointestinal nematodes of ruminants, equine cyathostomes, and bovine liver flukes. This work also included investigations into the patterns of resistance to common antiparasitic drugs in this geographic region. My second line of research was in the diagnosis and treatment of canine dirofilariasis. Emphasis was placed on seroepidemiology, with most of the work done using a bank of over 2000 sera collected over a 15 year period from dogs whose heartworm infections status was confirmed at necropsy.

As a full time administrator, I now oversee the research and graduate education programs of the College. My most significant accomplishment in that arena has been the building of a world-class training program in aquatic animal health, supported by a series of multi-million dollar grants from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. This campus-wide program covers aquatic animals from aquaculture-reared invertebrates, such as clams, shrimp and ornamental corals, to fish, aquatic reptiles, and marine mammals. Trainees include undergraduates, DVM students, graduate students, post doctoral fellows, and clinical residents as well as various working professionals, and training programs include short term research or clinical experience opportunities, short courses for continuing education, undergraduate, graduate and professional courses for UF credit, and a triennial international symposium.

Selected Publications:

For Publications Extracted From Medline Click HERE

Courtney, C., Janicki, J., Russell, B. 2005. Quality assessment in graduate education. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 32:324-327

Kaplan, R.M., Klei, T.R., Lyons, E.T., Lester, G., Courtney, C.H., French, D.D., Tolliver, S.C., Vidyashankar, A.N. and Zhao, Y. 2004. Prevalence of anthelmintic resistance on horse farms in the southern United States. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 225:903-910.

Watts, K.J., Reddy, G.R., Holmes, R.B., Lok, J.B.,Knight, D.H., Smith, G. and Courtney, C.H. 2001. Seasonal prevalence of third stage larvae of Dirofilaria immitis in mosquitoes from Florida and Louisiana. Journal of Parasitology 87:322-329.

Watts, K.J., Courtney, C.H., and Reddy, G.R. 1999. Development of a PCR- and probe-based test for the sensitive and specific detection of the dog heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis, in its mosquito intermediate host. Molecular and Cellular Probes 14:425-430.

Woods, T.F., Lane, T.J., Zeng, Q.-Y., and Courtney, C.H. 1998. Anthelmintic resistance on horse farms in north central Florida. Equine Practice 20 (4): 14-17.

Courtney, C.H. 1999. Seasonal transmission of equine cyathostomes in warm climates. Veterinary Parasitology 85:173-180.

Kaplan, R.M, Dame, J.B., Ganta, G.R., and Courtney, C.H. The prevalence of Fasciola hepatica in its snail intermediate host determined by DNA probe assay. International Journal for Parasitology 12:1585-1593, 1997.

Kaplan, R.M., Dame, J.B., Reddy, G.R., and Courtney, C.H.: A repetitive DNA probe for the sensitive detection of Fasciola hepatica infected snails. International Journal for Parasitology 25:601-610, 1995.

Dame, J.B., Blouin, M.S. and Courtney, C.H.: Genetic structure of populations of Ostertagia ostertagi and other parasitic helminths. Veterinary Parasitology 46:55-62, 1993.

Boyce, W.B. and Courtney, C.H.: Seasonal transmission of Fasciola hepatica in north central Florida (U.S.A.). International Journal for Parasitology 20: 695-696, 1990.