Natalia Cernicchiaro

Natalia Cernicchiaro is a Professor in Epidemiology at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, specializing in veterinary epidemiology, food safety, and zoonotic disease research. With a DVM from Uruguay (2003), MSc (2006) and PhD (2010) in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota and Guelph respectively, she completed postdoctoral work at Kansas State University (2011).

Research Focus: Her work integrates advanced epidemiological and economic approaches to address critical issues in feedlot cattle health, including:

• Antimicrobial resistance dynamics in veterinary pathogens
• Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) prevalence and control
• Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) transmission risk modeling
• Bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) risk profiling
• Vector-borne disease surveillance via citizen science initiatives

Publications & Methodology: Recent work spans both observational and experimental designs, featuring systematic reviews/meta-analyses of global STEC prevalence (2016-2025), risk assessments for JEV introduction (2018, 2022, 2024), and novel interventions for feedlot cattle including direct-fed microbials (2024) and postbiotics (2024) to reduce pathogen shedding.

Teaching: She coordinates advanced graduate courses DMP 855 Disease Detection & Surveillance and DMP 954 Advanced Epidemiology, while mentoring students across MS, PhD, MPH, and veterinary research programs.