The Food Systems Research Center is excited to annouce Dr. John Barlow as the Food Systems Researcher of the Month. John is a Professor in the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. He received his bachelor's degree in Pathobiology from the University of Connecticut in 1988 and graduated with a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the University of Illinois in 1992. Dr. Barlow joined ̽̽ in 1995 as a post-doctoral researcher studying mammary gland development and endocrine regulation of breast cancer. In 2009 he received his Ph.D. from ̽̽ in Molecular and Mathematical Epidemiology. His research and areas of expertise lie in mastitis epidemiology, infectious disease epidemiology, zoonotic disease, antimicrobial resistance, and global animal and public health.
1. What current food systems research are you conducting?
Many people may know of the critical public health issue of antibiotic resistance and the potential for farms to be a source of resistant bacteria. Antibiotic resistance is a Food Systems issue and a One Health issue, and I have been working in this space for many years. For years I have been excited about the One Health concept, especially in the context of food systems. One Health is the approach integrating collaborative efforts across disciplines to attain optimal health for people, animals, and our environment. My background in agriculture makes me a One Health proponent from a food systems perspective.
The Center for Disease Control (US CDC) groups methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among urgent human health threats. Staphylococcus aureus is also an important mastitis pathogen of dairy cattle, and control of mastitis accounts for most of the antibiotic use on dairy farms. There is a gap in knowledge on how dairy farms may contribute to antibiotic resistance threats for animal and human health. To address this gap, Ashma Chakrawarti, Ph.D. student, is leading our work on antimicrobial resistance spillover between cattle and humans on dairy farms making farmstead artisan cheeses. Ashma has implemented a pipeline for whole genome sequencing of Staphylococcus aureus isolates collected from people, cows, and milk on farms. Understanding the genomic diversity of isolates from people and cows on dairy farms provides insight into antibiotic resistance spread in these systems. Using these data, she has found that spillover of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus between people and cattle is rare, and the spread appears to occur in both directions, with humans as a source of resistant bacteria for animals and vis versa. Our work has uncovered some other bacterial species that are spilling over between cattle and humans on these farms, highlighting the importance of hygiene and farm biosecurity. I am excited to grow our work in this area by establishing links to other ̽̽ food systems researchers, such as Drs. Julie Smith, Andrea Etter, and Asim Zia (to name but a few).
In another set of studies, funded by the USDA Organic Research Extension Initiative (OREI), that includes a collaboration with Deb Neher in Plant and Soil Science, we are exploring the role of housing and bedding management for mastitis risk on organic dairy farms in Vermont. Caitlin Jeffrey, DVM, is the Ph.D. student on this project, where our goal is to better understand how farmers’ decisions about housing and bedding influence mastitis risk. Mastitis, an infection of the mammary gland, is the most common health problem of dairy cattle, and bedding management influences mastitis risk. Housing and bedding management decisions impact cattle comfort, well-being, and productivity. How we house and manage dairy cattle is a food systems issue, and Caitlin has been exploring how alternative bedding systems influence mastitis risk on organic dairy farms. The field studies from the OREI project established the foundational data demonstrating that Staphylococcus chromogenes is the most common cause of mastitis on organic dairy farms in Vermont; probably few farmers are aware of this important species. Caitlin recently received a USDA pre-doctoral fellowship to study the “emerging” mastitis pathogen Staphylococcus chromogenes. Our work with the Neher lab and others on campus is helping us think more deeply about mastitis epidemiology and ecology (eco-epidemiology) of organic dairy farms.
Finally, we have a FSRC-funded research project applying next-generation high throughput sequencing technologies to characterize the microbiome and describe antibiotic-resistant pathogen diversity and frequency across the production chain on farms that make farmstead and artisan cheeses. Felipe Machado De Santanna, DVM Ph.D., is the post-doctoral scientist leading this work. Felipe came to ̽̽ from Brazil, specifically the state of Minas Gerais, which is well known for its traditional farmstead cheeses. Felipe has been growing his expertise with advanced next-generation sequencing approaches to monitor changes in the microbiome and antibiotic resistance across the dairy production chain. A previous barrier in the past has been the high cost and low throughput of surveillance based on traditional (culture-based) microbiology. Recent sequencing technologies have overcome this limitation, allowing for more comprehensive surveillance in space and time. I am especially excited to integrate these rapid surveillance methods into models of pathogen risk and disease spread on dairy farms and to explore farmer and veterinary use and perceptions of monitoring disease risk and spread using these new tools.
2. What got you interested in food systems research?
I have always been interested in agriculture (plants and animals). I grew up in northeastern Connecticut (Pomfret and Woodstock), where agriculture and especially dairy were a strong part of the community. In junior high school and high school, I worked on dairy farms, starting by helping with hay harvests and eventually milking cows on a 30-tie-stall dairy. I also shadowed a local veterinarian, Dr. George Looby, which ignited my interest in animal health.
3. How is your FSRC-funded research impacting Vermonters?
Our FSRC-funded work tends to be closer to the basic or foundational science side, where direct impacts on Vermonters may not be realized for a few years. We hope that by characterizing the microbiomes across the farmstead or artisan cheese production systems we can identify tools and systems that dairy farmers and cheese makers can use to maintain consistent, high-quality, and safe products leaving the farm. We are in the methods and pipeline development stage, which means there is a lot of opportunity for subsequent research.
4. Where do you see the role of your field in expanding research on food systems at ̽̽ and beyond?
As a veterinary epidemiologist with an interest in animal health, zoonotic disease (diseases spread between people and animals), food quality, and safety, I see opportunities to integrate the One Health concept into our food systems research at ̽̽. One Health is a transdisciplinary approach, so the parallels to food systems research are clear to me. Our work with next-generation sequencing for molecular epidemiology gives me a footing in the big data realm, and my training in mathematical modeling in epidemiology allows me to communicate with the food systems modelers. I am also excited about integrating qualitative methods into our future studies. The COVID-19 epidemic demonstrates the importance of the One Health transdisciplinary approach with continued evidence that SARS-CoV2 is spilling over from humans to many animal species, including wildlife, and concerns of subsequent spill back to humans. The pandemic revealed the vulnerabilities in our food system supply chains, and there are opportunities to improve our ability to predict and mitigate future emerging or reemerging diseases impacting our food systems. Continued work on the intersection of animal, human, and environmental health is a place where I hope I can bring some value to food system research at ̽̽.
5. What is something about you people would be surprised to learn?
It may be no surprise that I love to grow things (fruits and vegetables and flowering plants), cook, and experiment with fermentation. What might surprise people is that I have a hobby of doing visual art and craft. My father was a graphic artist and painter, and my sister is a photographer, so my environment likely influenced my drive to make art. I see commonalities between my love of science, visual art and craft, cooking, fermented beverages, drystone walling, and gardening/agriculture… it is the physicality and act of creating or doing. I occasionally post my art or craft projects on my Instagram page , but more often, I post a meal or a favorite beverage, or gardening activities. For updates on the science side, check out .
6. What’s your favorite thing about living in Vermont?
The landscape. We are fortunate to live in a beautiful place.
7. What TV show, band/artist, podcast, video game, book, and/or anything are you most obsessed with right now?
I have been reading about wine lately, and I have a cheese obsession (i.e., an overflowing cheese drawer). I was recently paging through some books I have on northwestern native American art as well as a book on Wayne Thiebaud’s paintings. I have an idea for a 3-dimensional piece that riffs on his landscape paintings that keeps popping back into my mind.
