• Dr. Karin Orsel completed her DVM at Utrecht University in 1996 and did locums in several veterinary clinics in The Netherlands. In 1997, she returned to her alma mater to work in the ambulatory clinic of the Department of Farm Animal Health. Her active involvement in an epidemiologic study during a Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak (2001) motivated her to enroll in graduate studies on this topic. She received an MSc in Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics (2004) and subsequently a PhD (2007). In 2008, she and her husband moved to Canada to join the UCVM, working with a focus on epidemiology (especially infectious diseases of cattle). In 2009, she passed both the NAVLE (enabling her to practice with a full license in Alberta) and the board exam of the European College of Bovine Herd Management.

• Currently, Dr. Orsel leads the UCVM’s Cattle Health Research Group. Dr. Orsel is the 2019 recipient of Merck Veterinary Award from Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. As a veterinary epidemiologist, her main interests are herd-level approaches to health, disease transmission and identifying risk factors for multi-factorial diseases, using multi-disciplinary approaches. Currently, her research includes both beef and dairy cattle, with a focus on lameness, specifically digital dermatitis, Johne’s disease, bovine leucosis and other infectious diseases at the herd level.

Key Areas of Expertise

• Epidemiology, Cattle
• Antimicrobial Resistance
• Bovine Respiratory Disease
• Calf Health
• Reduced Antimicrobial Use