Assistant Professor - Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences

e-mail: singe024@umn.edu
http://www.singerlab.umn.edu/

Research Interests
My research is focused in infectious disease epidemiology. I apply an ecological approach to a disease system, wherein host, environment, agent and other factors that influence pathogen transmission and persistence are evaluated. Within this framework, I have investigated food-borne pathogens, vector-borne pathogens, and the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes among bacteria. These studies incorporate tools and methods in a variety of areas, including molecular biology, microbiology and mathematical modeling. One major area of research in my laboratory is the investigation of the ways in which various selection pressures influence the dissemination and persistence of antimicrobial resistance genes.  We have developed mathematical models to predict how changes in these selection pressures, including changes in agricultural management strategies, will affect the stability of antimicrobial resistance genes in bacterial populations. Ultimately, our multidisciplinary team will combine epidemiological, ecological, microbiological and hydrological models to predict the likelihood and extent of ecosystem-human-animal transmission of specific bacteria and bacterial genes.

Selected Publications
(For a comprehensive list of  Dr. Singer's recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.)

Patterson, S.K., and R.S. Singer. 2006. Evaluating the biases associated with community DNA approaches to antibiotic resistance detection.  Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation. 18:172-181.

Singer, R.S., and C.L. Hofacre. 2006. Potential impacts of antibiotic use in poultry production.  Avian Diseases. 50:161-172.

Singer, R.S., C.L. Cooke, C.W. Maddox, R.E. Isaacson, and R.L. Wallace. 2006. Using pooled samples for the PCR detection of Salmonella in feces. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation. 18:319-325.

Singer, R.S., M.P. Ward, and G. Maldonado. 2006. Can landscape ecology untangle the complexity of antibiotic resistance? Nature Reviews Microbiology. 4:943-952.

Singer, R.S., L.A. Cox, J.S. Dickson, H.S. Hurd, I. Phillips, and G.Y. Miller. 2007. Improved food animal health decreases human foodborne illness.  Preventive Veterinary Medicine. 79:186-203.

Muñoz-Aguayo, J., K.S. Lang, T.M. LaPara, G. González, and R.S. Singer. 2007. Evaluating the effects of chlortetracycline on bacteria in a simulated river water ecosystem.  Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 73:5421-5425.

Boyer, T.C., M.P. Ward, R.L. Wallace, and R.S. Singer. 2007. Regional seroprevalence of bluetongue virus in Illinois and Indiana cattle.  American Journal of Veterinary Research (In Press).

Current Funding
“Food Safety, Food Production and the Global Food Supply,” NRICGP-USDA.

“Quantifying pathogen levels in complex samples using capture probe-based Q-PCR,” NRICGP-USDA.

Honors and Awards
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. 2000.

McKnight Land-Grant Professor, University of Minnesota, 2005-2007.

Invited Member, U.S. Delegation to the Codex Alimentarius Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance, 2007 – 2010.