Andrew Peters

Veterinary Science

Associate Professor Andrew Peters

VSc (USyd), MACVS (Avian health), PhD (CSU)

Associate Head (Research & Graduate Studies) /Associate Professor in Wildlife Health and Pathology
Wagga Wagga
Building 294 room 110

Andrew worked as a veterinarian after graduating in 2004, based initially at a mixed practice on the north coast of NSW and then at a bird, reptile and wildlife focused practice in Sydney. In 2009 he left practice to focus on research, doing a PhD at Charles Sturt University with Professor Shane Raidal. He spent four years catching wild migratory birds, living in remote parts of northern Australia and Papua New Guinea and doing phylogenetic analyses in the lab in order to examine the relationship between people, the diverse native pigeon species of Australasia and a particular group of single-celled parasites.

Having finished his PhD in 2013, Andrew has continued his focus on protistology and pathology, especially of wild birds, but has also developed an international training program aimed at improving animal health capacity in Papua New Guinea.

Andrew's main interests are:

  • Wildlife health
  • Natural ecology of infectious protists
  • Avian biology and ecology.

Research

  • Describing the protozoal flora of wild birds in Australasia
  • Avian virology, focusing on viruses threatening endangered parrots in Australia
  • Phylogenetics in wildlife health investigations.

Teaching

  • Undergraduate veterinary histology
  • Undergraduate captive reptilian management and husbandry
  • Undergraduate supervision of veterinary honours research projects
  • Masters in Animal Science graduate research supervision
  • PhD supervision in protistology focused research.

Peters A, Patterson EI, Baker GB, Holdsworth M, Sarker S, Ghorashi SA and Raidal SR (2014). Evidence of Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease Virus spillover into wild critically endangered Orange-bellied Parrots (Neophema chrysogaster). Journal of Wildlife Diseases 50(2).

Sarker S, Patterson EI, Peters A, Baker GB, Forwood JK, Ghorashi SA, Holdsworth M, Baker R, Murray N and Raidal SR (In Press). Mutability dynamics of an emergent single stranded DNA virus in a naïve host. PLOS ONE.

Sarker S, Forwood J, Ghorashi S, McLelland D, Peters A and Raidal SR (In Press). Whole-genome sequence characterization of a beak and feather disease virus in a wild regent parrot (Polytelis anthopeplus monarchoides). Genome Announcements.

Kessell A, Connolly J, Woodgate R, Boulton J, Peters A (In Press). Haemolytic anaemia associated with Theileria sp. in an orphaned Platypus. Australian Veterinary Journal.

Peters A, Raidal SR, Blake AH, Atkinson MM, Atkinson PR, Eggins GP (2012). Haemochromatosis in a Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris) in an Australian zoo. Australian Veterinary Journal 90(1-2), 30-33.

CSU Research Outputs