Summary of Responsibilities:

Primary research interests center around the causes, treatments and prevention of bovine mastitis in dairy cattle. Specific areas of interest include:

a) Etiology and treatment of mastitis in dairy heifers.
b) Efficacy of various antibiotic treatment regimens for bovine mastitis.
c) Correlation between susceptibility test results and antibiotic therapy outcomes in bovine mastitis.

Education:

B.S. Microbiology Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, Louisiana
M.S. Microbiology Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, Louisiana
Ph.D. Microbiology and Immunology, Louisiana State University Medical School

Previous Employment and Work Experience:

1995
Professor, Hill Farm Research Station, Homer, LA

1989
Associate Professor, Hill Farm Research Station, Homer, LA

1984
Assistant Professor, Hill Farm Research Station, Homer, LA

1980
Postdoctoral Fellowship: Infectious Diseases - University of California at Los Angeles and Wadsworth V.A. Medical Center

1982 Postdoctoral Fellowship: Clinical Microbiology - St. Lukes Episcopal Hospital, Texas Medical Center, Houston, Texas

Memberships In Professional Societies:
 

1. American Society for Microbiology
2. National Mastitis Council, Inc.
3. Association of Veterinary Microbiologists
4. Louisiana Dairy Fieldman's Association
5. Mastitis Research Workers
6. NE112 Regional
7. American Dairy Science Association

Refereed Journal Article:

1. Owens, W. E., F. Henley, and B. D. Barridge. 1977. Hemolytic Mutants of Group A Streptococcus pyogenes. J. Clin. Microbio. 7:152-157.
2. Berg, R. D., and W. E. Owens. 1979. Inhibition of Translocation of Viable Escherichia coli from the Gastrointestinal Tract of Mice by Bacterial Antagonism. Infect. Immun. 25:820-827.
3. Owens, W. E., and R. D. Berg. 1980. Bacterial Translocation from the Gastrointestinal Tract of Athymic (nu/nu) Mice. Infect. Immun. 27:461-467.
4. Owens, W. E., and R. D. Berg. 1981. Derivation of a Breeding Colony of Germfree Athymic Mice by Cesarean Section and Foster Nursing. J. Immuno. Methods 42:(1)115-119.
5. Owens, W. E., and R. D. Berg. 1982. Bacterial Translocation from the Gastrointestinal Tracts of Thymectomized Mice. J. Curr. Microbio. 7:169-174.
6. Owens, W. E., and S. M. Finegold. 1983. Comparative In Vitro Susceptibility of Anaerobic Bacteria to Cefmenoxime, Cefotetan, and N-formimidoyl Thienamycin. Antimicrob. Agents and Chemother. 23:626-629.
7. Watts, J. L., S. C. Nickerson, and W. E. Owens. 1986. Commercial systems for identification of mastitis pathogens. Agri-Practice. 7:16-24.
8. Watts, J. L., W. E. Owens, and S. C. Nickerson. 1985. Evaluation of the Minitek Gram-Positive Set for identification of staphylococci isolated form the bovine mammary gland. J. Clin. Microbio. 23:873-875.
9. Watts, J. L., W. E. Owens, and S. C, Nickerson. 1985. Identification of staphylococci from bovine udders: Evaluation of the API 20 GP System. Can. J. Microbiol. 32:359-360.
10. Watts, J. L., R. L. Boddie, W. E. Owens, and S. C. Nickerson. 1988. Determination of teat dip germicidal activity using the excised teat model. J. Dairy Sci. 71:261- 265.
11. Owens, W. E. and J. L. Watts. 1987. Effect of milk components on antimicrobial activity of selected antimicrobics against Staphylococcus aureus isolated from bovine udders. J. Dairy Sci. 70:1946-1951.
12. Boddie, R. L., S. C. Nickerson, W. E. Owens, and J. L. Watts. 1987. Udder microflora in non-lactating heifers. AGRI-Practice. 8:22-25
13. Watts, J. L. and W. E. Owens. 1986. Prevalence of staphylococcal species in four dairy herds. Res. Vet. Sci. 46:1-4.
14. Owens, W. E. 1987. Isolation of Staphylococcus aureus L-forms from experimentally induced bovine mastitis. J. Clin. Micro. 25:1956-1961.
15. Watts, J. L., and W. E. Owens. 1987. Synergistic hemolysis associated with coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from bovine mammary glands. J. Clin. Micro. 25:2037-2039.
16. Owens, W. E., J. L. Watts. 1987. Antimicrobial susceptibility and - lactamase testing of staphylococci isolated from 7 dairy herds in Louisiana. J. Dairy Sci. 71:1934-1939.
17. Watts, J. L., and W. E. Owens. 1988. Evaluation of the Rapid Mastitis Test (RMT) for identification of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from bovine intramammary infections. J. Clin. Microbiol. 26:672-674.
18. Owens, W. E., J. L. Watts, R. L. Boddie, and S. C. Nickerson. 1988. Antibiotic treatment of mastitis: comparison of intramammary and intramammary/intramuscular therapies. J. Dairy Sci. 71:3143-3147
19. Owens, W. E. 1988. Evaluation of various antibiotics for induction of L forms from Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bovine mastitis. J. Clin. Micro. 26:2187-2190.
20. Owens, W. E., and S. C. Nickerson. 1989. Antibiotic levels in milk and mammary tissue during various treatment regimens for bovine mastitis. AGRI-practice. 10:10-15.
21. Owens, W. E., and S. C. Nickerson. 1989. Evaluation of an anti-inflammatory factor derived from hyperimmunized cows. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 190:79-86.
22. Owens, W. E., and S. C. Nickerson. 1989. Morphologic study of Staphylococcus aureus L-, reverting and intermediate colonies in situ. J. Clin. Micro. 27:1382-2386.
23. Owens, W. E., and S. C. Nickerson. 1990. Treatment of Staphylococcus aureus mastitis with penicillin/novobiocin: Antibiotic levels and bacteriologic status in milk and mammary tissue. J. Dairy Sci. 73:115-124.
24. Nickerson, S. C., W. E. Owens, and J. L. Watts. 1989. Effects of recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on Staphylococcus aureus mastitis in lactating dairy cows. J. Dairy Sci. 73:3286-3294.
25. Owens, W. E, J. L. Watts, B. B. Greene, and C. H. Ray. 1990. Minimum inhibitory concentrations and disk diffusion zone diameter for selected antibiotics against streptococci isolated from bovine mammary glands. J. Dairy Sci. 73:1225-1231.
26. Nickerson, S. C., R. L. Boddie, W. E. Owens, and J. L. Watts. 1990. Effects of novel intramammary device models on incidence of intramammary infection after experimental challenge with mastitis pathogens. J. Dairy Sci. 73:373-380.
27. Watts, J. L., W. E. Owens, P. J. Washburn, and C. H. Ray. 1992. Evaluation of Prostaph test for detection of Staphylococcus aureus intramammary infections in dairy herds. Agri-Prac. 13(5):31-34.
28. Owens, W. E., Z. Y. Xiang, C. H. Ray, and S. C. Nickerson. 1991. Determination of milk and mammary tissue concentrations of ceftiofur after intramammary and/or intramuscular therapy. Journal of Dairy Science. 73:3449-3456.
29. Owens, W. E., S. C. Nickerson, and P. J. Washburn. 1992. Effect of a milk-derived factor on the inflammatory response to Staphylococcus aureus intramammary infection. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology. 30(2-3):233-246.
30. Owens, W. E., S. C. Nickerson, P. J. Washburn, and C. H. Ray. 1991. Efficacy of a cephapirin dry cow product for treatment of Staphylococcus aureus mastitis in heifers. Journal of Dairy Science. 74:3376-3380.
31. Owens, W. E. and C. H. Ray. 1993. Effect of selected antibiotics on Staphylococcus aureus present in milk from infected mammary glands. J. Vet. Med. B. 40(7) Sept. 1993. p. 508-514.
32. Owens, W. E. 1991. Mastitis therapy: rational for new routes and regimens of treatment for Staphylococcus aureus mastitis. Dairy Food And Environmental Sanitation. Vol 11 #11. p. 645-655.
33. Nickerson, S. C., W. E. Owens, and R. L. Boddie. 1993. Effect of a Staphylococcus aureus bacterin on serum antibody levels, rate of new infection, and mammary histology in nonlactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science. 76:1290-1297.
34. Nickerson, S. C., W. E. Owens, J. J. Rejman, and S. P. Oliver. 1993. Effects of interleukin-1 and interleukin-2 on mammary gland leukocyte populations and histology during the early nonlactating period. Journal of Veterinary Medicine B. 40:621-633. 1994.
35. Nickerson, S. C., W. E. Owens, C. H. Ray, R. L. Boddie, and N. T. Boddie. 1992. The effect of chronic immunostimulation of the nonlactating bovine mammary gland with interleukin-2, pokeweed mitogen, and lipopolysaccharide. Journal of Dairy Science. 75:3339-3351.
36. Quiroga, G. H., W. E. Owens, and S. C. Nickerson. 1993. Response of heifer mammary gland macrophages and neutrophils to interferon-gamma stimulation in vitro. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research. 57:212-214.
37. Owens, W. E., P. J. Washburn, and C. H. Ray. 1993. The postantibiotic effect of selected antibiotics on Staphylococcus aureus Newbould 305 from bovine intramammary infections. Journal of Veterinary Medicine B. 40:603-608.
38. Nickerson, S. C., and W. E. Owens. 1993. Staphylococcal mastitis: reasons for treatment failure and therapeutic approaches for control. Agri-Pract. Vol. 14. p. 18-23.
39. Owens, W. E., S. C. Nickerson, J. L. Watts, R. A. Rzepkowski, and R. J. Yancey, Jr. 1994. Milk serum and mammary tissue concentrations of pirlimycin following intramuscular, intramammary or combination therapy of chronic Staphylococcus aureus mastitis. Agri-Practice. 15:19-23.
40. Owens, W. E., S. C. Nickerson, P. J. Washburn, and C. H. Ray. 1994. Prepartum antibiotic therapy with a cephapirin dry cow product against naturally occurring intramammary infections in heifers. Journal of Veterinary Medicine B. 41:90-100.
41. Owens, W. E., and C. H. Ray. 1995. Therapeutic and protective effect of prepartum antibiotic infusion in heifers and nonlactating cows. Journal of Veterinary Medicine B. 43:455-459.
42. Rejman, J. J., D. A. Luther, W. E. Owens, S. C. Nickerson, and S. P. Oliver. 1994. Changes in bovine mammary secretion composition during early involution following intramammary infusion of recombinant bovine cytokines. Journal of Veterinary Medicine B. 42:449-458.
43. Owens, W. E., C. H. Ray, J. L. Watts, and R. J. Yancey. 1995. Comparison of antibiotic therapy success during lactation with antimicrobial susceptibility test results for bovine mastitis. Journal of Dairy Science. 80:313-317.
44. Owens, W. E., S. C. Nickerson, R. L. Boddie, and C. H. Ray. 1997. Efficacy of sequential intramammary antibiotic treatment against chronic Staphylococcus aureus mastitis. Agri-practice. 18:10-14.
45. Nickerson, S. C., W. E. Owens, and R. L. Boddie. 1995. Mastitis in dairy heifers: Initial studies on prevalence and control. J. Dairy Sci. 78:1607-1618.
46. Nickerson, S. C.,W. E. Owens, L. K. Fox, T. R. Shroyock, and T. E. Spike. 1999. Comparison of Tilmicosin and Cephapirin as Therapeutics for Staphylococcus aureus mastitis at dry off. J. Dairy Sci. 82:696-703.
47. Owens, W. E., S. P. Pliver, B. E. Gillespie, C. H. Ray, and S. C. Nickerson. 1998. The role of horn flies (Haematobia irritans) in Staphylococcus aureus mastitis in dairy heifers. A. J. V.R. 59 9:1122-1124.
48. Tomita, G. M., S. C. Nickerson, W. E. Owens, and B. Wren. 1998. Influence of route of vaccine administration against experimental Escherichia coli intramammary infection. J. Dairy Sci. 81:2159-2164.
49. Owens, W. E., S. C. Nickerson, C. H. Ray. 1999. Efficacy of parenterally or Intramammarily adminstered Tilmicosin or Ceftiofur against Staphylococcus aureus mastitis during lacation. J. Dairy Sci. 82:645-647.

1. Owens, W. E. 1977. Hemolytic mutants of Group A Streptococcus pyogenes. M.S. thesis. Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, Louisiana.
2. Owens, W. E. 1980. Mechanisms confining bacteria to the gastrointestinal tract of mice. Ph.D. Dissertation. Medical Center of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Shreveport, Louisiana.
3. Owens, W. E., S. C. Nickerson, R. L. Boddie, and J. L. Watts. 1990. Combination therapy increases cure rates for bovine mastitis. Louisiana Agriculture. 33(2)6.
4. Nickerson, S. C., and W. E. Owens. New treatment strategies. 1990. Page 114 in Proceedings of the 29th Annual Meeting of the National Mastitis Council, Inc. Louisville, KY.
5. Owens, W. E., and J. L. Watts. 1990. Update on antimicrobial susceptibility testing of streptococci isolated from bovine mastitis. Association of Veterinary Microbiology Newsletter.
6. Owens, W. E. 1990. Combination therapy works best for Staph. aureus mastitis. Louisiana Cattleman.
7. Owens, W. E., S. C. Nickerson, J. L. Watts, and R. L. Boddie. 1990. Antibiotic concentration in mammary tissue and milk following intramammary and/or intramuscular therapy. in Proceedings of International Symposium on Bovine Mastitis, September 13-16, 1990. Indianapolis, IN.
8. Nickerson, S. C., and W. E. Owens. 1991. Antibiotic treatment strategies for mastitis. in Proceedings of the 8th Annual Eastern States Veterinary Conference. Orlando, FL. Pages 472-474.
9. Watts, J. L. and W. E. Owens. 1990. Use of the Prostaph Test for managing staphylococcal mastitis in dairy cattle. The Louisiana Cattleman. December, Page 2.
10. Nickerson, S. C., W. E. Owens, and R. L. Boddie. 1991. Progress in development of a vaccine to control mastitis. Louisiana Agriculture. 34(4):20-22.
11. Owens, W. E. 1991. Routes and regimens of mastitis therapy. The Louisiana Cattleman. February, Page 2.
12. Owens, W. E., S. C. Nickerson, P. J. Washburn, and C. H. Ray. 1991. Treatment of experimentally induced S. aureus mastitis in bred heifers. Louisiana Dairyman. April. Page 2.
13. Owens, W. E. 1993. Use of bulk tank cultures for mastitis management. Louisiana Cattleman.
14. Owens, W. E. 1994. antibiotic therapy of intramammary infections in bred heifers. Louisiana Agriculture.
15. Dairy Research Report. 1994. Hill Farm Research Station. Homer, LA.
16. Owens, W. E., and C. H. Ray. 1994. Effect of therapy during lactation on subclinical mastitis caused by environmental streptococci. La. Agri.
17. Nickerson, S. C., W. E. Owens, R. L. Boddie, and C. H. Ray. 1994. The effects of a Propionibacterium acnes immunostimulant on somatic cell counts and colony-forming units in Staphylococcus aureus-infected quarters of dairy cows. in Dairy Research Report. Hill Farm Research Station. Homer, LA. 1994.
18. Nickerson, S. C., and W. E. Owens. 1995. Heifer mastitis. Udder Words.
19. Owens, W. E., and S. C. Nickerson. 1996. Antibacterial activity and efficacy of aloe vera extract against subclinical mastitis. Louisiana Dairy Research Report. pp. 46-49.
20. Nickerson, S. C., and W. E. Owens. 1996. Managing mastitis in dairy heifers. Louisiana Dairy Report. pp. 18-20.