Biography
Dr. Afema obtained her veterinary degree from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. While in veterinary school, she picked interest in wildlife health and research after taking a course in Wildlife Health and Management. This led her to volunteer at several wildlife research projects including population ecology, conservation and utilization of impalas and nursing behavior of warthogs.
Her interest in research offered opportunities to work as a Research Assistant with international teams on a study investigating the epidemiology of bovine brucellosis in a rural community in Uganda. Also, between 2004 – 2006, she participated in collaborative research investigating mercury and persistent organic pollutants in African fish eagles and marabou storks.
From 1996 to 2009, she served as a veterinarian and curator at the Uganda Wildlife Education Center where she was responsible for providing health care for the captive animal collection collaborating with the Uganda Wildlife Authority to provide health care to various species of free-ranging wild animals. During this time, she collaborated on anesthetic trials in captive chimpanzees and clinical case reports on the captive collection.
Between 2007 – 2008, she studied the Masters in Preventive Veterinary Medicine (MPVM) at University of California, Davis. For her thesis, she investigated health and other factors that contributed to the decline of muskoxen in Alaska. After the MPVM program, she pursued a PhD in Veterinary Sciences at Washington State University, Pullman. She was based at the Field Disease Investigation Unit and involved in foodborne and waterborne diseases research. Her PhD dissertation focused on the epidemiology and transmission of non-typhoidal Salmonella and antimicrobial resistance in humans, livestock, and wild birds.
Her postdoctoral research included documenting antimicrobial use in dairy cattle in Washington State, and evaluating molecular mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance using commensal Escherichia coli as indicator species. She also held the position of Postdoctoral Research Associate which was jointly hosted by Washington State University and SGU, Grenada. She investigated the population genetic structure, antibiotic resistance, and transmission of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in dogs in Grenada.
Since August 2019, Dr. Afema has been a faculty member in the Pathobiology department, SVM. Her current research involves investigating viral, bacterial and parasitic pathogens in captive and wild Mona monkeys in Grenada. Special focus is on determining exposure to Herpesviruses and zoonotic bacterial pathogens such as non-typhoid Salmonella. In addition, she in conducting health assessment of captive red-footed tortoises in Grenada. Main interest for this study is upper respiratory tract infections, determining exposure to Mycoplasma species, and investigating occurrence of Salmonella of public health significance.
Contact Information
Areas of Interest
- Integrated approaches (epidemiology, mathematical modeling, molecular techniques, human behaviors and cultures) to understand disease transmission at the human-domestic animal-wildlife interface.
- Contribute to research to raise awareness about neglected zoonotic bacterial and parasitic infections (brucellosis, cysticercosis, salmonellosis, Q-fever, leptospirosis,) so that they can be prioritized for public health intervention.
- Antibiotic use in livestock, emergence, dissemination, and persistence of antimicrobial resistance in animal production systems and environments.
Affiliations
Selected Publications
- Moore, D. A., Blackburn, C. C., Afema, J. A., Kinder, D. R., & Sischo, W. M. (2021). Describing motivation for health and treatment decisions and communication choices of calf-care workers on western United States dairies. Journal of Dairy Science, 104(3), 3197-3209.
- Afema JA, Davis MA, Sischo WM. Antimicrobial use policy change in pre-weaned dairy calves and its impact on antimicrobial resistance in commensal Escherichia coli: A cross sectional and ecological study. BMC Microbiology.19(1):217-230, 2019.
- Afema JA, Ahmed S, Besser TE, Jones LP, Sischo WM, Davis MA. Molecular epidemiology of dairy cattle-associated Escherichia coli carrying blaCTX-M genes in Washington State. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2018 Jan 5. pii: AEM.02430-17. doi: 10.1128/AEM.02430-17.
- Afema JA, Beckmen KB, Arthur SM, Huntington KB, Mazet JA. Disease complexity in a declining Alaskan muskox (Ovibos moschatus) population. J Wildl Dis. 2017 Apr; 53(2):311-329. doi: 10.7589/2016-02-035. Epub 2017 Jan 18.
- Afema JA, Sischo WM. Salmonella in wild birds utilizing protected and human impacted habitats, Uganda. Ecohealth. 2016 Sep; 13(3):558-569. Epub 2016 Aug 3.doi: 10.1007/s10393-016-1149-1.
- Afema JA, Byarugaba DK, Shah DH, Atukwase E, Nambi M, Sischo WM. Potential sources and transmission of Salmonella and antimicrobial resistance in Kampala, Uganda. PLoS One, 2016; 11(3):e0152130. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152130.
- Afema JA, Mather AE, Sischo WM. Antimicrobial resistance profiles and diversity in Salmonella from humans and cattle, 2004-2011. Zoonoses Public Health. 2015; Nov;62(7):506-17. doi: 10.1111/zph.12172. Epub 2014 Nov 21.
- Hollamby S, Afema-Azikuru J, Waigo S, Cameron K, Gandolf AR, Norris A, Sikarskie JG. Suggested guidelines for use of avian species as biomonitors. Environ Monit Assess, 2006; 118, (1-3) 13-20.
- Hollamby, S., Afema-Azikuru, J., Sikarskie, J. G., Kaneene, J. B., Bowerman, W. W., Fitzgerald, S. D., ... & Rumbeiha, W. K. (2004). Mercury and persistent organic pollutant concentrations in African fish eagles, marabou storks, and Nile tilapia in Uganda. J. Wildl. Dis, 40(3), 501-514.
- Oloffs, A., Baumann, M.P.O., Afema, J. and Nakavuma, J., 1998. Experiences with a strategy to investigate bovine brucellosis in a rural area in Southwest Uganda. Revue d’e’levage et de me’dicine veterinaire des pays tropicaux, 51, pp.101-105.
Selected Projects
SVM Research Faculty
View the SVM faculty involved in research and SVM Adjunct and Cooperating faculty who collaborate with SVM researchers. SVM faculty also collaborate with many other researchers at institutions in North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. These collaborations are reflected within the individual SVM faculty research profile.
