BSc (Flinders Uni), Hons Appl. Sci (UniSA),Grad. Dip.Med. Lab Sc. (UniSA), PhD (UniSA)

Veterinary and medical microbiology, vaccine development and bacterial pathogenesis.

Dr Vanniasinkam's research experience also includes DNA vaccine development for Rhodococcus equi, development of diagnostic tests for Campylobacter spp. and Rhodococcus equi and epitope mapping of bacterial virulence proteins. Her current research involves vaccine development and development of diagnostic techniques for veterinary pathogens such as equine adenovirus, Campylobacter jejuni and Rhodococcus equi.

Rhodococcus equi (Prescottella equi) vaccines, the future of vaccine development.Giles C, Vanniasinkam T, Ndi S, Barton MD. Equine Vet J. 2014 Jun 19 Effect of plasma transfer on survival rates of low-birth-weight neonatal piglets. Woon S, Barton MD, Vanniasinkam T. Journal of Swine Health and production. 2014. 22: 197-200. McCallum C, McGregor A, Vanniasinkam T. 2013. Prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in Tasmania, Australia Pathology. 45(7):681-8. Cavanagh HM, Mahony TJ, Vanniasinkam T. 2012 Genetic characterization of equine adenovirus type 1. Veterinary Microbiology 155(1):33-7. Giles C, Cavanagh HM, Noble G, Vanniasinkam T. 2010. Prevalence of equine adenovirus antibodies in horses in New South Wales, Australia. Veterinary Microbiology. 143(2-4):401-404. Heuzenroeder MW, Barton MD, Vanniasinkam T. Phumoonna T. 2009. Linear B-cell epitope mapping using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for libraries of overlapping synthetic peptides. Methods in Molecular Biology. 524:137-144. Phumoonna, T., M. D.Barton, T. Vanniasinkam and M. W. Heuzenroeder 2008. Chimeric vapA/groEL2 DNA vaccines enhance clearance of Rhodococcus equi in aerosol challenged C3H/He mice. Vaccine 12: 26(20):2457-2465. Vanniasinkam, T., H. Ertl, and Q. Tang, Q., 2006. Trichostatin-A enhances adaptive immune responses to DNA vaccination. Journal of Clinical Virology. 36: 292-297. Vanniasinkam, T, S. Reddy and H.C.J. Ertl. 2006. DNA vaccines driven by a non-viral promoter. Virology. 344: 412-420. Vanniasinkam, T and H.C.J. Ertl. 2005. Adenoviral gene delivery for HIV-1 vaccination. Current Gene Therapy. 5: 203-212. Vanniasinkam, T, M D Barton and M. W. Heuzenroeder. 2004. The immunogenicity of Rhodococcus equi GroEL2-based vaccines in a murine model. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology. 98: 91-100. Vanniasinkam, T, M.D. Barton and M. W. Heuzenroeder. 2001. B-cell epitope mapping of the virulence-associated protein A (VapA) of Rhodococcus equi. : implications for early detection of R. equi disease in foals. Journal of Clinical Microbiology.39:1633-1637.