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Dr Allison Stewart

Equine Medicine Specialist

School of Veterinary Science
Faculty of Science
allison.stewart@uq.edu.au
+61 7 54601 799

Overview

After graduating from the University of Melbourne in 1997, Allison spent 2 years in mixed practice in Gawler, SA, before traveling to the USA to undertake a residency in Large Animal Internal Medicine at the Ohio State University. She completed her Masters of Science and was awarded Diplomate status of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) in 2002. She then became a faculty member at Auburn University in Alabama and competed a fellowship in Emergency and Critical Care and obtained Diplomate status in 2007. Allison worked as a specialist and taught veterinary students at Auburn University for 12 years, and has over 300 publications/book chapters/scientific presentations/conference lectures. She was awarded 30 research grants and has presented research throughout the world in the areas of equine endocrinology, fungal disease, neurology, infectious disease and pharmacology. Allison resigned her position as Professor of Equine Medicine at Auburn University in 2015 and moved back to Australia. She spent some time in small animal, mixed and equine practice seeing primarily emergency cases whlist actuing as a Director on the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Victoria. She then completed her PhD at the Swedish Agricultural University in Uppsala and commenced as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland's School of Veterinary Science. Allison enjoys speaking at international conferences. Her current research interests include equine endocrinology, pharmacokinetics and tthe local Queensland specific probelms of Hendra virus diagnsotics and vaccination responses and treatment of Insect Bite Hypersensitivity. Because of her broad prior experieinces she is able to supervise graduate students and undertake collaborative research working with a number of veterinary species.

Research Interests

  • Endocrinology, fungal disease, neurology, infectious disease, pharmacology, electrolyte imbalance

Qualifications

  • Master of Science, Ohio State University
  • Doctor of Philosophy, School of Agricultural Sciences

Publications

View all Publications

Grants

View all Grants

Supervision

  • Comparison of Scoring Systems for Grading Insect Bite Hypersensitivity in Horses

    Master Philosophy

  • Maternal Antibody Decline and Natural Acquisition of Positive Titres to Flaviviruses in Foals

    Doctor Veterinary Clinical Sci

  • Antimicrobial use and stewardship in dog-to-dog bite wounds

    Doctor Veterinary Clinical Sci

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Pilot study determining the efficacy of two commercial formulations of pergolide to treat Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) in horses.

    PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

    Elevated basal plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentration is used to diagnose PPID. The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

    The proposed piolet study would enrol client owned horses and ponies with PPID. ACTH concentration will be periodically measured after treatment with a liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide. A dose escalation study will be performed until clinical signs and ACTH concentrations improve. The efficacy of liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide will be compared.

    PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

    Elevated basal plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentration is used to diagnose PPID. The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

    The proposed piolet study would enrol client owned horses and ponies with PPID. ACTH concentration will be periodically measured after treatment with a liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide. A dose escalation study will be performed until clinical signs and ACTH concentrations improve. The efficacy of liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide will be compared.

    Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.

  • Determining the presence and persistence of colostral transfer of passive immunity against Hendra virus in foals, and their response to Hendra vaccination.

    Potential Honours, Masters or PhD project for graduates of Veterinary Science, Veterinary Technology, Equine Science, Agricultural Science or Science degrees. Previous horse handling experience is required. Hendra virus (HeV) is a uniquely Australian emerging zoonotic virus of horses, posing significant economic, animal welfare, and public health concerns. The virus is transmitted from bats to horses.

    An equine vaccine Equivac® HeV is available and antibody titres greater than 1:32 are considered protective. There have been no HeV cases in vaccinated horses. As there is no human vaccine for HeV, the most effective means of preventing human infection is through vaccination of horses. All horses at UQ are vaccinated, with foals vaccinated at 4-6 months of age.

    Immunity in the equine neonate is conferred via transfer of passive immunoglobulins through ingestion of colostrum. Maternal antibody titres in foals may offer a short period of protection against HeV. The ideal time to vaccinate foals is unknown. The project will involve bleeding foals at birth and then every month until vaccination. Blood samples will also be collected after vaccination of different aged foals. HeV titres will be measured. PhD level projects may also involve laboratory work in the validation of other diagnostic tests to measure HeV antibody titres.

    Please contact Allison Stewart allison.stewart@uq.edu.au. Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.

    Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.

  • Comparison of the effects of storage and temperature on the stability of Australian liquid formulations of pergolide.

    PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

    The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

    Concentrations of pergolide in various commercially available products will be measured after exposure to various temperatures and periods of time using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

    PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

    Elevated basal plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentration is used to diagnose PPID. The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

    The proposed piolet study would enrol client owned horses and ponies with PPID. ACTH concentration will be periodically measured after treatment with a liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide. A dose escalation study will be performed until clinical signs and ACTH concentrations improve. The efficacy of liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide will be compared.

    Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Featured Publications

Book

Book Chapter

  • Diseases of the respiratory system

    Wilkins, Pamela A., Lascola, Kara M., Woolums, Amelia R., Bedenice, Daniela, Giguère, Steeve, Boyle, Ashley G., Dunkel, Bettina, Williams, Kurt J., Landolt, Gabriele A., Austin, Scott M., Ainsworth, Dorothy M., Habasha, Faisal Ghazi, Hinchcliff, Kenneth W., Del Piero, Fabio, Pascoe, John R., Barakzai, Safia Z., Gutierrez-NIbeyro, Santiago D., Dixon, Padraic Martin, Buchanan, Ben, Tennent-Brown, Brett, Marsh, Peggy S., Waters, W. Ray, Lofstedt, Jeanne, John, Emily, Bowman, Dwight D., Stewart, Allison Jean, Van Eps, Andrew W., Mazan, Melissa and Grissett, Gretchen P. (2020). Diseases of the respiratory system. Large animal internal medicine. (pp. 515-701.e42) edited by Bradford P. Smith, David C. Van Metre and Nicola Pusterla. St. Louis, MO USA: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-323-55445-9.00031-8

  • Fungal infections of the equine respiratory tract

    Stewart, Allison (2019). Fungal infections of the equine respiratory tract. Large Animal Internal Medicine. (pp. 550-559) edited by Bradford Smith, David Van Metre and Nicola Pusterla. Philadelphia, United States: Elsevier.

  • Diarrhea

    Stewart, Allison J. (2016). Diarrhea. Merck Veterinary Manual. Rahway, NJ, United States: Merck Publishing Group.

  • Disorders of magnesium metabolism

    Stewart, A. J. (2016). Disorders of magnesium metabolism. Merck veterinary manual. Rahway, NJ, United States: Merck Publishing Group.

  • Magnesium homeostasis and derangements

    Stewart, Allison Jean (2015). Magnesium homeostasis and derangements. Equine Fluid Therapy. (pp. 76-87) edited by C. Langdon Fielding and K. Gary Magdesian. Hoboken, NJ, United States: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781118928189.ch6

  • Fungal infections of the equine respiratory tract

    Stewart, Alison Jean (2014). Fungal infections of the equine respiratory tract. Large Animal Internal Medicine. (pp. 494-504) edited by P. Bradford Smith. St Louis MO : Elsevier.

  • Endoscopy of the urinary tract

    Stewart, Allison J. (2011). Endoscopy of the urinary tract. Clinical Veterinary Advisor: The Horse. (pp. 726-726) edited by David A. Wilson. St Louis, MO, United States: Elsevier.

  • Endoscopy: urinary tract

    Stewart, Allison J. (2011). Endoscopy: urinary tract. Clinical veterinary advisor: the horse. (pp. 726-728) edited by David Wilson. Philadelphia, PA United States: Elsevier.

  • Neoplasia of the urinary tract

    Stewart, A. J. (2011). Neoplasia of the urinary tract. Clinical Veterinary Advisor: The Horse. (pp. 396-398) edited by David A. Wilson. St Louis, MO, United States: Elsevier.

  • Renal tubular acidosis

    Stewart, Allison J. (2011). Renal tubular acidosis. Clinical Veterinary Advisor: The Horse. (pp. 497-498) edited by David A. Wilson. St Louis, MO, United States: Elsevier.

  • Ultrasound examination of the urinary tract

    Stewart, A. J. (2011). Ultrasound examination of the urinary tract. Clinical Veterinary Advisor: The Horse. (pp. 836-838) edited by David A. Wilson. St Louis, MO, United States: Elsevier.

  • Ultrasound: urinary tract

    Stewart, Allison J. (2011). Ultrasound: urinary tract. Clinical veterinary advisor: the horse. (pp. 836-838) edited by David Wilson. Philadelphia, PA United States: Elsevier.

  • Urinalysis

    Stewart, A. J. (2011). Urinalysis. Clinical Veterinary Advisor: The Horse. (pp. 821-821) edited by David A. Wilson. St Louis, MO, United States: Elsevier.

  • Urinary Tract Disease: Clinical Presentations

    Stewart, A. J. (2011). Urinary Tract Disease: Clinical Presentations. Clinical Veterinary Advisor: The Horse. (pp. 843-843) edited by David A. Wilson. Louis, MO, United States: Elsevier.

  • Urinary fractional excretion of electrolytes

    Stewart, A. J. (2011). Urinary fractional excretion of electrolytes. Clinical Veterinary Advisor: The Horse. (pp. 843-843) edited by David A. Wilson. St Louis, MO, United States: Elsevier.

  • Urinary tract disease: clinical pathology

    Stewart, Allison J. (2011). Urinary tract disease: clinical pathology. Clinical veterinary advisor: the horse. (pp. 843-844) edited by David A. Wilson. St. Louis, MO, United States : Elsevier.

  • Urine Culture

    Stewart, A. J. (2011). Urine Culture. Clinical Veterinary Advisor: The Horse. (pp. 844-844) edited by David A. Wilson. St Louis, MO, United States: Elsevier.

  • Diarrheal disease in horses and foal

    Stewart, Allison J. (2010). Diarrheal disease in horses and foal. Merck Veterinary Manual. (pp. 256-267) Rahway, NJ, United States: Merck Publishing Group.

  • Disorders of magnesium metabolism

    Stewart, Allison J. (2010). Disorders of magnesium metabolism. Merck Veterinary Manual. (pp. 907-910) Rahway, NJ, United States: Merck Publishing Group.

  • Differentials for Ataxia

    Stewart, Allison J. (2009). Differentials for Ataxia. Current Therapy in Equine Medicine VI. (pp. 609-614) edited by N. Edward Robinson and Kim A. Sprayberry. St Louis, MO, United States: Mosby Elsevier.

  • Fungal infections: superficial, subcutaneous, systemic

    Stewart, Allison J. (2009). Fungal infections: superficial, subcutaneous, systemic. Infectious diseases of the horse. (pp. 383-396) edited by Tim S. Mair and R. E. Hutchinson. Fordham, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom: Equine Vet Journal .

  • Respiratory fungal infections

    Stewart, Allison J. (2009). Respiratory fungal infections. Current Therapy in Equine Medicine VI. (pp. 307-312) edited by N. Edward Robinson and Kim A. Sprayberry. St Louis, MO, United States: Mosby Elsevier.

  • Fungal pneumonia in horses

    Stewart, Allison J. (2008). Fungal pneumonia in horses. Large Animal Internal Medicine. (pp. 522-533) edited by Bradford Smith. St Louis, MO, United States: Mosby Elsevier.

  • Magnesium disorders

    Stewart, Allison J. (2004). Magnesium disorders. Equine Internal Medicine. (pp. 1365-1379) edited by Stephen Reed , Warwick Bayly and Debra Sellon. St Louis, MO, United States: Saunders Elsevier.

  • Disorders of the Endocrine System

    Toribio, Ramiro E., Duckett, Wendy M. and Stewart, Allison J. (2003). Disorders of the Endocrine System. Equine Internal Medicine: Second Edition. (pp. 1295-1379) Elsevier Inc.. doi: 10.1016/B0-72-169777-1/50020-2

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Edited Outputs

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Pilot study determining the efficacy of two commercial formulations of pergolide to treat Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) in horses.

    PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

    Elevated basal plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentration is used to diagnose PPID. The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

    The proposed piolet study would enrol client owned horses and ponies with PPID. ACTH concentration will be periodically measured after treatment with a liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide. A dose escalation study will be performed until clinical signs and ACTH concentrations improve. The efficacy of liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide will be compared.

    PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

    Elevated basal plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentration is used to diagnose PPID. The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

    The proposed piolet study would enrol client owned horses and ponies with PPID. ACTH concentration will be periodically measured after treatment with a liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide. A dose escalation study will be performed until clinical signs and ACTH concentrations improve. The efficacy of liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide will be compared.

    Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.

  • Determining the presence and persistence of colostral transfer of passive immunity against Hendra virus in foals, and their response to Hendra vaccination.

    Potential Honours, Masters or PhD project for graduates of Veterinary Science, Veterinary Technology, Equine Science, Agricultural Science or Science degrees. Previous horse handling experience is required. Hendra virus (HeV) is a uniquely Australian emerging zoonotic virus of horses, posing significant economic, animal welfare, and public health concerns. The virus is transmitted from bats to horses.

    An equine vaccine Equivac® HeV is available and antibody titres greater than 1:32 are considered protective. There have been no HeV cases in vaccinated horses. As there is no human vaccine for HeV, the most effective means of preventing human infection is through vaccination of horses. All horses at UQ are vaccinated, with foals vaccinated at 4-6 months of age.

    Immunity in the equine neonate is conferred via transfer of passive immunoglobulins through ingestion of colostrum. Maternal antibody titres in foals may offer a short period of protection against HeV. The ideal time to vaccinate foals is unknown. The project will involve bleeding foals at birth and then every month until vaccination. Blood samples will also be collected after vaccination of different aged foals. HeV titres will be measured. PhD level projects may also involve laboratory work in the validation of other diagnostic tests to measure HeV antibody titres.

    Please contact Allison Stewart allison.stewart@uq.edu.au. Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.

    Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.

  • Comparison of the effects of storage and temperature on the stability of Australian liquid formulations of pergolide.

    PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

    The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

    Concentrations of pergolide in various commercially available products will be measured after exposure to various temperatures and periods of time using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

    PPID is a common disease afflicting horses (and ponies) throughout the world, with more than 20% of horses older than 15 years affected. Clinical signs of PPID include hypertrichosis, chronic infections; hyper- or anhydrosis and recurrent laminitis. Laminitis is a painful and incurable condition of horses resulting in loss of use, high veterinary and farrier expenses and decreased survival.

    Elevated basal plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentration is used to diagnose PPID. The dopamine agonist pergolide mesylate provides the most effective treatment for PPID. Dosages used to successfully control PPID range from 1 to 5 mg of pergolide daily. Treatment success is considered to be resolution of clinical signs and normalization of ACTH concentrations. There are anecdotal reports of high rates of treatment failures in horses and ponies being treated with liquid pergolide products. This may be because of inadequate dose or degraded drug because of inappropriate storage conditions and delays between manufacture and administration.

    The proposed piolet study would enrol client owned horses and ponies with PPID. ACTH concentration will be periodically measured after treatment with a liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide. A dose escalation study will be performed until clinical signs and ACTH concentrations improve. The efficacy of liquid and tablet formulations of pergolide will be compared.

    Graduate student salary and tuition support is currently not included in the funds available for this project. Australian and Commonwealth students may be eligible for scholarships. We would welcome international students with home country financial support (academic performance greater than B+ and IELTS >6.5 overall and > 6 in each category). Limited UQ scholarships for international students are available for high outstanding applicants.

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ResearcherID: E-4355-2016

ORCID: 0000-0002-2464-3954

Scopus ID: 7403497092

Google Scholar ID: NogFTwMAAAAJ

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