Ray M. Kaplan, DVM, PHD, DACVM, DEVPC
Professor
Biography
Dr. Kaplan is a Professor in the Department Pathobiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine at St. George’s University, where he also serves as the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. Dr. Kaplan received his bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and his DVM from Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. He worked as a clinical veterinarian in a mixed-species private practice in Pennsylvania for several years before leaving for the University of Florida where he earned a PhD in Veterinary Parasitology. He then served in the US Army Veterinary Corps at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, where he was Chief of Parasite Biology in the Division of Experimental Therapeutics. Prior to his position at St. George’s University, Dr. Kaplan was a Professor at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine for 23 years, where he performed research, teaching and service in veterinary parasitology. He remains affiliated with University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine as a Professor Emeritus.
Dr. Kaplan’s research program is focused on measuring, understanding, and solving the problem of drug resistance in helminth parasites. He has published >100 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals with an h-index of 45 and >8400 citations. Several of his papers are recognized as the most highly cited in the field of veterinary parasitology. He has served as a reviewer for >50 scientific journals and as an grant reviewer for >20 foundations and organizations. In the course of his career, Dr. Kaplan has been PI or Co-PI on more than 50 grants and contracts totaling approximately $25 million.
Dr. Kaplan is a Diplomate of both the American College of Veterinary Microbiologists (Parasitology) and the European Veterinary Parasitology College, and is a past President of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists. Dr. Kaplan also is recipient of the Pfizer Award for Research Excellence, the University of Georgia Charles N. Dobbins Award for Excellence in Service, the Dr. Fred C. Davison Award for outstanding service to veterinary medicine, and the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists – Boehringer Ingelheim Distinguished Veterinary Parasitologist Award.
Contact Information
Areas of Interest
- Anthelmintic resistance in helminth parasites
- Epidemiology and control of livestock parasites
- Genetics
- Genomics and molecular diagnosis of anthelmintic resistance in nematode parasites
- New drug discovery
- Parasites of aquatic animals
Affiliations
- American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists (AAVP)
- World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP)
- American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
- Caribbean Veterinary Medical Association
- American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners
- American Heartworm Society
- European Veterinary Parasitology College
- American College of Veterinary Microbiologists
- American Association of Bovine Practitioners
Selected Publications
- Pablo D. Jimenez Castro, Abhinaya Venkatesan, Elizabeth Redman, Rebecca Chen, Abigail Malatesta, Hannah Huff, Daniel A. Zuluaga Salazar, Russell Avramenko, John. S. Gilleard, Ray M. Kaplan. (2021) Multiple drug resistance in hookworms infecting greyhound dogs in the USA. International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance, Vol 17, 107-117.
- J.B. Collins, B. Jordan, P.D. Jimenez Castro, J. Fowler, A.N. Vidyashankar, R.M. Kaplan. (2021) Impact of fenbendazole resistance in Ascaridia dissimilis on the economics of production in turkeys. Poultry Science, 101435.
- M.M. George, A.F. Vatta, S.B. Howell, BE. Storey, C.J. McCoy, A.J. Wolstenholme, E.M. Redman, J.S. Gilleard, R.M. Kaplan. (2021) Evaluation of changes in drug susceptibility and population genetic structure in Haemonchus contortus following worm replacement as a means to reverse the impact of multiple-anthelmintic resistance on a sheep farm. International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance, 15:134-143.
- M.K. Nielsen, M. Banahan, R.M. Kaplan. (2020) Importation of macrocyclic lactone resistant cyathostomins on a US Thoroughbred farm. International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance, 14:99-104.
- J. Sanchez, G. Dharmarajan, M.M. George, C.N. Pulaski, A.J. Wolstenholme, J.S. Gilleard, and R.M. Kaplan. (2020) Using population genetics to examine relationships of Dirofilaria immitis based on both macrocyclic lactone-resistance status and geography. Veterinary Parasitology, 283.
- P.D. Jimenez Castro, Mansour, A., Charles, S., Hostetler, J., Settje, T., Kulke, D., Kaplan, R.M. (2020). Efficacy evaluation of anthelmintic products against an infection with the canine hookworm (Ancylostoma caninum) isolate Worthy 4.1F3P in dogs. International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance 13, 22-27
- J.B. Collins, B. Jordan, L. Baldwin, C. Hebron, K. Paras, A.N. Vidyashankar, R.M. Kaplan (2019). Resistance to fenbendazole in Ascaridia dissimilis, an important nematode parasite of turkeys. Poultry Science, 0:1-4.
- A.N. Vidyashankar, P.D. Jimenez Castro and R.M. Kaplan. (2017) A Statistical Approach for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Heartworm Drugs: What Does 100% Efficacy Really Mean? Parasite and Vectors, 10(Suppl 2):516: 97-108.
- A.W. Park, J. Haven, R.M, Kaplan, S. Gandon. (2015) Refugia and the evolutionary epidemiology of drug resistance. Biology Letters. 11 (11) DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.07.
- B.E. Storey, C. Marcellino, M. M. Miller, M. J. Maclean, E. Mostafa, J.S. Howell, J. Sakanari, A. J. Wolstenholme, R.M. Kaplan. (2014) Utilization of computer processed high definition video imaging for measuring motility of microscopic nematode stages on a quantitative scale: “The Worminator”, International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug Resistance, 4 (3): 233-243.
- Kaplan, R.M. and A.N. Vidyashankar, 2012. An inconvenient truth: global worming and anthelmintic resistance, Veterinary Parasitology, 186:70-78.
- Kaplan, R. M. and M. K. Nielsen. 2010. An evidence-based approach to equine parasite control: It ain’t the 60s anymore, Equine Veterinary Education, 22 (6) 306-316.
- Schwenkenbecher, J.M., M. Albonico, B. Quentin, R.M. Kaplan. 2007. Characterization of beta-tubulin genes in hookworms and investigation of resistance-associated mutations using real-time PCR. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 156:167-174.
- Kaplan, R.M., A. N. Vidyashankar, S.B. Howell, J.M. Neiss, L.H. Williamson, and T.H. Terrill. 2007. A novel approach for combining the use of in vitro and in vivo data to measure and detect emerging moxidectin resistance in gastrointestinal nematodes of goats. International Journal for Parasitology, 37:795-804.
- Schwenkenbecher, J.M. and Kaplan, R.M. 2007. Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for the canine hookworm, Ancylostoma caninum. Parasitology Research, 100:1015-1021.
- Tandon, R., K.T. LePage, and R.M. Kaplan 2006. Cloning and characterization of genes encoding α and β subunits of glutamate-gated chloride channel protein in Cylicocyclus nassatus. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, 150:46-55.
- Kaplan, R.M., J.M. Burke, T.H. Terrill, J.E. Miller, W.R. Getz, S. Mobini, E. Valencia, M.J. Williams, L.H. Williamson, M. Larsen, and A.F. Vatta. 2004. Validation of the FAMACHA© eye color chart for detecting clinical anemia in sheep and goats on farms in the southern United States. Veterinary Parasitology 123: 105-120.
- Kaplan, R.M. 2004. Drug resistance in nematodes of veterinary importance: a status report. Trends in Parasitology 20(10): 477-481. [Identified by Essential Science Indicators to be one of the most cited papers in the research area of “DRUG RESISTANCE]
Selected Projects
- PI: 01/22 – 12/23 “Development of essential research tools for sustaining global programs for the elimination of human hookworms”, NIH NIAID R21 1R21AI166281-01, $442,034.
- Co-I: 7/20 – 6/25 “Discovery of novel benzimidazole resistance mechanisms”, NIH NIAID R01 AI153088-01, $3,558,543 (PI: EC Andersen).
- Co-PI: 4/18-3/21, "Phosophoethanolamine Methltransferases Inhibitors with Broad-Spectrum Anthelmintic Effect Against Livestock Nematodes,” USDA NIFA, $489,877 (PI: WH Witola)
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