Professor Claire Wathes

BSc PhD Dsc FRASE FRSB
Emeritus Professor of Veterinary Reproduction

Department: Pathobiology and Population Sciences

Campus: Hawkshead

Research Groups: Sustainable Food Systems

Since retiring in 2019 Claire has maintained her association with RVC as Emeritus Professor of Veterinary Reproduction. Her research interests are based on ruminant reproduction, including investingations of the interactions of fertility with metabolism, disease and genotype in dairy cows. She is continuing to investigate factors affecting calf health.

Claire gained a first class degree in Zoology from the University of Birmingham followed, in 1978, by a PhD in dairy cow fertility at the University of Nottingham. Before joining the Royal Veterinary College in 1994, she worked for 10 years as a lecturer, then as reader in the Department of Anatomy, University of Bristol, obtaining a DSc from Bristol in 1990. This was followed by 4 years in a research post at the Babraham Institute before joining the RVC in 1994 as its first female professor. She retired in 2019 and is now maintaining her association with RVC as an Emeritus Professor.

At the RVC Claire served on a variety of committees including a long spell as Chairman of the Graduate School Committee. As Head of the Reproduction and Development Group for 12 years from 1995-2007 she was active in promoting research in this area, which was assessed as internationally competitive in the Research Assessment Exercises. She also established an elective in Reproduction for final year veterinary students. Externally she was Chairman of the BBSRC Steering Committee on ARK-Genomics from 2000-2008 and a member of the Horserace Betting Levy Board Veterinary Advisory Committee between 1997 and 2006.  She was awarded the Research Medal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) in 2006 with respect to her research on dairy cow fertility and the Marshall Medal by the Society for the Study of Fertility in 2015. In 2009 she was made a guest professor at Huazhong Agricultural University, China and in 2016 she was also appointed as a visiting Professor at the University of Reading, UK. She is a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society of England  and the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) and in 2019 she was awarded honorary membership of the British Society of Animal Science  and was included in Who’s Who. She became a  Council member of the Royal Society of Biology in 2017 and served as their Honorary Secretary from 2022-2025. In 2025 the RSB awarded her with the President's Medal in recognition for her services to Biology.

 

My main research interests are in the general area of ruminant reproduction and I have published 240 primary research papers  plus around 70 invited reviews and book chapters, with a current h-index over 60. in 2024 Scholar GPS placed me in the top 0.3% in Life Scientists worldwide. My PhD work led to the development of milk progesterone profiles for monitoring fertility in dairy cows. Work at Bristol led to the discovery that oxytocin is an ovarian hormone in ruminants and was followed by investigations into the control of luteolysis, ovarian function and parturition, placental development and the causes of early embryo mortality in cattle and sheep. At the RVC my research into the underlying causes of poor fertility in cattle continued, in particular studying the interactions with metabolism, disease and genotype. I am also interested in calf development and how that impacts on their future performance. I have supervised  36 PhD students. Much of this work has involved collaboration both nationally and internationally, particularly with a number of valued colleagues in the EU and China.

Selected papers last 10 years 2015-2025

G Lindley, N Blackie, DC Wathes and RE Booth (2025) Development and progression of bovine respiratory disease measured using clinical respiratory scoring and thoracic ultrasonography in preweaned calves on dairy farms in the United Kingdom: A prospective cohort study. Animals 15, 360. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15030360

SA Mahendran, RE Booth, DC Wathes and N Blackie. (2025) Comparison of activity levels around disbudding between individually and pair-housed dairy calves. Dairy, 6, 16. https:// doi.org/10.3390/dairy6020016

G Lindley, RE Booth, DC Wathes and N Blackie. (2025) Assessment of current colostrum feeding practices and passive transfer of immunity in Great Britain: A cross-sectional study. Veterinary Record DOI 10.1002.vetr.6025

JM Lawson, CA Shilton, V Lindsay-McGee, A Psifidi, DC Wathes, T Raudsepp and AM de Mestre (2024) Does inbreeding contribute to pregnancy loss in Thoroughbred horses? Equine Veterinary Journal. 1–8 DOI: 10.1111/evj.14057

SA. Mahendran , N Blackie, D C Wathes and RE. Booth. 2023. Comparison of environment quality measurements between three types of calf housing in the UK.  Journal of Dairy Science 106, https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2022-22613 

Z. Cheng, MW Little, C Ferris, H Takeda, KL Ingvartsen, MA Crowe, DC Wathes and the GplusE consortium (2023) Influence of the concentrate inclusion level in a grass silage-based diet on hepatic transcriptomic profiles in Holstein-Friesian dairy cows in early lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 106(8):5805-5824. doi: 10.3168/jds.2022-22860.

C Yuan, L Tang, T Lopdell, VA Petrov, C Oget-Ebrad, GCM Moreira, JL Gualdrón Duarte, A Sartelet, Z Cheng, M Salavati, DC Wathes, MA Crowe; GplusE Consortium; W Coppieters, M Littlejohn, C Charlier, T Druet, M Georges, H Takeda (2023) An organism-wide ATAC-seq peak catalogue for the bovine and its use to identify regulatory variants. Genome Research 33(10):1848-1864. doi: 10.1101/gr.277947.123.

SA Mahendran, DC Wathes, N Blackie, and RE Booth (2023) Calf health, feeding and social behaviours within groups fed on automatic milk feeders. Ruminants 3, 266–285. https://doi.org/10.3390/ruminants3040025

SA Mahendran, DC Wathes, RE Booth, N Baker, N Blackie (2023) Effects of individual and pair housing of calves on short-term health and behaviour on a UK commercial dairy farm. Animals (Basel). 13(13):2140. doi: 10.3390/ani13132140.

Z Cheng, C Ferris, MA Crowe, KL Ingvartsen, C Grelet, A Vanlierde, L Foldager, F Becker, DC Wathes, The GplusE Consortium (2023) Hepatic Global Transcriptomic Profiles of Holstein Cows According to Parity Reveal Age-Related Changes in Early Lactation. International Journal of Molecular Science 24(12):9906. doi: 10.3390/ijms24129906.

SA Mahendran, DC Wathes, RE Booth, N Blackie(2023) Effects of the individual and pair housing of calves on long-term heifer production on a UK commercial dairy farm. Animals (Basel), 14(1):125. doi: 10.3390/ani14010125. 

C Grelet, T, Larsen MA Crowe, DC Wathes, CP Ferris, KL Ingvartsen, C Marchitelli, F Becker, A Vanlierde, J Leblois, U Schuler, FJ Auer, A Köck, L Dale, J Sölkner, O Christophe, J Hummel, A Mensching, JAF Pierna, H Soyeurt, M Calmels, R Reding, M Gelé, Y Chen, N Gengler; GplusE consortium,; F Dehareng (2023) Prediction of key milk biomarkers in dairy cows through milk MIR spectra and international collaborations. Journal of Dairy Science 107:1669–1684. doi: 10.3168/jds.2023-23843.

G Lindley, R Booth, C Wathes, N Blackie(2023) Passive transfer - is it time to reset our goals? Veterinary Record, 192(5):216. doi: 10.1002/vetr.2813.

GE Pollott, R Piercy, C Massey, M Salavati, Z Cheng and DC Wathes (2022) Locating a novel autosomal recessive genetic variant in the cattle glucokinase gene using only WGS data from three cases and six carriers. Frontiers in Genetics. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.755693

Z Cheng, S Palma-Vera, L Buggiotti, M Salavati, F Becker, D Werling, DC Wathes and GplusE Consortium. (2022)Transcriptomic analysis of circulating leukocytes obtained during the recovery from clinical mastitis caused by Escherichia coli in Holstein dairy cows. Animals 12, 2146.

DC Wathes (2022) Developmental programming of fertility in cattle – is it a cause for concern? Animals 12, 2654. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ani12192654

Z Cheng, DL McLaughlin, ML Little,  C Ferris, M Salavati, KL Ingvartsen, MA Crowe, DC Wathes and The GplusE Consortium (2022) Proportion of concentrate in the diet of early lactation dairy cows has contrasting effects on circulating leucocyte global transcriptomic profiles, health and fertility according to parity. International Journal of Molecular Science 24:39. doi: 10.3390/ijms24010039.

DC Wathes, F Becker, L Buggiotti, MA Crowe, C Ferris, L Foldager, C Grelet, M Hostens, KL Ingvartsen, C Marchitelli, M Salavati, F Signorelli, H Takeda, L Tang, Z Cheng and the GplusE Consortium (2021) Associations between circulating IGF-1 concentrations, disease status and the leukocyte transcriptome in early lactation dairy cows. Ruminants, 1, 147–177. https://doi.org/10.3390/ruminants1020012

DC Wathes, Z Cheng, M Salavati, L Buggiotti, H Takeda, L Tang, F Becker, KI Ingvartsen, C Ferris, M Hosten, MA Crowe, and the GplusE consortium. (2021) Relationships between metabolic profiles and gene expression in liver and leukocytes of dairy cows in early lactation. Journal of Dairy Science. 104:1–21. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2020-19165  

KF Johnson, N Chancellor, DC Wathes. (2021) A cohort study risk factor analysis for endemic disease in pre-weaned dairy heifer calves. Animals. 11, 378. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020378

SA Mahendran, DC Wathes, R Booth, N Blackie (2021) The health and behavioural effects of individual versus pair housing of calves at different ages on a UK commercial dairy farm. Animals 11, 612. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030612

K Wang, C Thomas, S Zhang, DC Wathes, Z Cheng (2021) Comparison of the ability of high and low virulence strains of noncytopathic bovine viral diarrhoea virus-1 to modulate expression of interferon tau stimulated genes in bovine endometrium.  Frontiers in Veterinary Science 8, doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.659330.

Z Cheng, A Wylie, C Ferris, KL Ingvartsen, DC Wathes and GplusE consortium (2021)  Effect of diet and non-esterified fatty acid levels on global transcriptomic profiles in circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells in early lactation dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science. 104, https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2021-20136

Z Cheng,  L Buggiotti, M Salavati, C Marchitelli, S Palma-Vera, A Wylie, H Takeda, L Tang, MA Crowe, DC Wathes and GplusE consortium (2021) Global transcriptomic profiles of circulating leucocytes in early lactation cows with clinical or subclinical mastitis. Molecular Biology Reports. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-021-06494-8.

L Buggiotti, Z Cheng, M Salavati, DC Wathes, and the Genotype plus Environment Consortium (2021)  Comparison of the transcriptome in circulating leukocytes in early lactation between primiparous and multiparous cows provides evidence for age-related changes. BMC Genomics. 22(1):693. doi: 10.1186/s12864-021-07977-5.

S Mahendran, R Booth, DC Wathes and N Blackie (2021) A survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in UK dairy herds. Journal of Dairy Science. 105, https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2021-20638

A Kahler, IM McGonnell, H Smart, AA Kowalski, KC Smith, DC Wathes, AM de Mestre (2021)  Fetal morphological features and abnormalities associated with equine early pregnancy loss. Equine Veterinary Journal. 53:530–541. doi: 10.1111/evj.13340

DC Wathes. Author/co-author of five chapters in Handbook of Calf Health & Management: A Guide to Best Practice Care for Calves (2021). Ed S Mahendran. 5M Publishing. ISBN 9781789181340  Pub. 5M Books Ltd © 2021

MA Krogh , M Hostens, M Salavati, C Grelet, MT Sorensen, DC Wathes, CP Ferris, C Marchitelli, F Signorelli, F Napolitano, F Becker, T Larsen, E Matthews, F Carter, A Vanlierde, G Opsomer, N Gengler, F Deharen, MA Crowe, KL Ingvartsen and L Foldager (2020) Between- and within-herd variation in blood and milk biomarkers in Holstein cows in early lactation Animal. 14: 1067-1075. doi:10.1017/S1751731119002659

Z Cheng, LE Brown, DC Wathes (2020) Bovine viral diarrhoea virus infection disrupts uterine interferon stimulated gene regulatory pathways during pregnancy recognition in cows. Viruses 12, 1; doi:10.3390/v12010001

CA Shilton, A Kahler, BW Davis, JR Crabtree, J Crowhurst, AJ McGladdery, DC Wathes, T Raudsepp, AM. de Mestre (2020) Whole genome analysis reveals aneuploidies in early pregnancy loss in the horse. Scientific Reports 10, 13314 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-69967-z

L Buggiotti, Z Cheng, DC Wathes and GplusE consortium. (2020) Mining the unmapped reads in bovine RNA-seq data reveals the prevalence of bovine herpes virus-6 in European dairy cows and the associated changes in their phenotype and leucocyte transcriptome. Viruses 12, 1451; doi:10.3390/v12121451

DC Wathes, CF Oguejiofor, C Thomas and Z Cheng (2020) Importance of viral disease in dairy cow fertility. Engineering.  Engineering 6, 26–33.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2019.07.020

L Foldager, C Gaillard, MT Sorensen, T Larsen, E Matthews, R O'Flaherty, F Carter, MA Crowe, C Grelet, M Salavati, M Hostens, KL Ingvartsen, MA Krogh; GplusE Consortium (2020) Predicting physiological imbalance in Holstein dairy cows by three different sets of milk biomarkers. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 179:105006. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.105006.

X Chen, S Zhang, Z Cheng, G E Pollott, D C Wathes (2019) Association between single nucleotide polymorphism in RelA with somatic cell count and longevity supports importance of NF-κB signalling in cattle health. Open Journal of Animal Sciences 9, 51-64.

AM de Mestre, BV Rose, YM Chang, DC Wathes, K Verheyen (2019) Multivariable analysis to determine risk factors associated with early pregnancy loss in thoroughbred broodmares. Theriogenology 124: 18-23.

KF Johnson, R Vinod Nair and DC Wathes (2019) Comparison of the effects of high and low milk replacer feeding regimes on health and growth of crossbred dairy heifers. Animal Production Science 59: 1648–1659

CF Oguejiofor, C Thomas, Z Cheng and DC Wathes (2019) Mechanisms linking bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) infection with infertility in cattle. Animal Health Research Reviews 20, 72–85. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1466252319000057

B Rose, M Firth, B Morris, J.M.Roach, DC Wathes, KLP Verheyen and AM de Mestre (2018) Descriptive study of current therapeutic practices, clinical reproductive findings and incidence of pregnancy loss in intensively managed thoroughbred mares Animal Reproduction Science 188:74-84.

W Marei, W Khalil, PGA Pushpakumara, MA El-Harairy, AMA Abo El-Atta, DC Wathes, A Fouladi (2018) Polyunsaturated fatty acids influence offspring sex ratio in cows International Journal of Veterinary Science and Medicine   Supplement 6: S36-40.

DC Wathes and Z Cheng (2018) Polyunsaturated fatty biosynthesis and metabolism in reproductive tissues. Pp157-180. In Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Metabolism, Ed: GC Burdge. Elsevier, Academic Press. ISBN: 978-0-12-811230-4.

CF Oguejiofor, Z Cheng and DC Wathes (2018) Regulation of innate immunity within the endometrium of the bovine uterus during infection. CABI Reviews. In press.

AC Boulton, J. Rushton and DC Wathes (2017) An empirical analysis of the cost of rearing dairy heifers from birth to first calving and the time taken to repay these costs. Animal 11: 1372-1380.

CF Oguejiofor, Z Cheng, AA Fouladi-Nashta and DC Wathes (2017) Bovine endometrial cells mount innate immune response to the intracellular ligands CL097 and poly(dA:dT) indicating roles against uterine viruses. Open Journal of Animal Sciences 7:110-126

Z Cheng, L Chauhan, AT Barry, A Abudureyimu, CF Oguejiofor, X Chen and DC Wathes (2017) Acute bovine diarrhea virus infection inhibits expression of interferon tau-stimulated genes in bovine endometrium. Biology of Reproduction 96: 1142-1153

X Chen, S Zhang, Z Cheng, JS Cooke, D Werling, DC Wathes and GE Pollott (2017) Polymorphisms in the selectin gene cluster are associated with fertility and survival time in a population of Holstein Friesian cows. PLoS One 12:e0175555

A Ali, DC Wathes, A Swali, H Burns and S Burns (2017). A novel mammalian glucokinase exhibiting exclusive inorganic polyphosphate dependence in the cell nucleus. Biochemical and Biophysical Reports 12: 151-157 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrep.2017.09.004

KF Johnson, N Chancellor, CC Burn and DC Wathes (2017) Analysis of pre-weaning feeding policies and other risk factors affecting growth rates of calves on 11 commercial dairy farms. Animal 12: 1413-1423. Doi:10.1017/S1751731117003160

KF Johnson, N Chancellor, CC Burn and DC Wathes (2017) Prospective cohort study to assess rates of contagious disease in pre-weaned UK dairy heifers: management practices, passive transfer of immunity and associated calf health. Veterinary Record Open 4:e000226.

WF Marei, DC Wathes, KA Raheem, O Mohey-Elsaeed, F Ghafari, AA Fouladi-Nashta (2016) Influence of hyaluronan on endometrial receptivity and embryo attachment in sheep. Reproduction, Fertility and Development. doi: 10.1071/RD16232. ePub ahead of print.

Z Cheng, A Abudureyimu, CF Oguejiofor, R Ellis, AT Barry, X Chen, OL Anstaett, J Brownlie and DC Wathes (2016) BVDV alters uterine prostaglandin production during pregnancy recognition in cows. Reproduction 151:605-614.

BV Rose, V Cabrera-Sharp, MJ Firth, FE Barrelet, S Bate, IJ Cameron, JR Crabtree, J Crowhurst, AJ McGladdery, H Neal, J Pynn, OD Pynn, C Smith, Z Wise, KLP Verheyen, DC Wathes and AM de Mestre (2016) A method for isolating and culturing placental cells from failed early equine pregnancies. Placenta 38:107-111.

X Chen, Z Cheng, D Werling, GE Pollott, M Salavati, KF. Johnson, DC Wathes and S Zhang (2016) Bovine P-selectin mediates leucocyte adhesion and is highly polymorphic in dairy breeds. Research in Veterinary Science 108: 85-92.

Z Cheng, DRE Abayasekara, M Elmes, S Kirkup and DC Wathes (2015) Effect of oleic acid supplementation on prostaglandin production in maternal endometrial and fetal allantochorion cells isolated from late gestation ewes. Placenta 36: 1011-1017.

AC Boulton, J Rushton and DC Wathes (2015) Analysis of management and costs associated with  rearing pregnant dairy heifers in the UK from conception to caving. Open Journal of Animal Sciences 5: 474-485.

X Chen, Z Cheng, S Zhang, D Werling and DC Wathes (2015) Analysis of candidate innate immune genes and signaling pathways influencing mastitis resistance in dairy cows. Open Journal of Animal Sciences 5: 358-393.

CF Oguejiofor, Z Cheng, A Abudureyimu, OL Anstaett, J Brownlie, AA Fouladi-Nashta and DC Wathes (2015) Global transcriptomic profiling of bovine endometrial immune response in vitro. II. Effect of bovine viral diarrhea virus on the endometrial response to lipopolysaccharide. Biology of Reproduction 93:101.

CF Oguejiofor, Z Cheng, A Abudureyimu, AA Fouladi-Nashta and DC Wathes (2015) Global transcriptomic profiling of bovine endometrial immune response in vitro. I. Effect of lipopolysaccharide on innate immunity. Biology of Reproduction 93: 100.

Z Cheng, CF Oguejiofor, T Swangchan-Uthai, S Carr and DC Wathes (2015) Relationships between circulating urea concentrations and endometrial function in postpartum dairy cows. Animals (Basel) 5:748-773.

AC Boulton, J Rushton and DC Wathes (2015) The management and associated costs of rearing heifers on UK dairy farms from weaning to conception. Open Journal of Animal Sciences 5: 294-308.

AC Boulton, J Rushton and DC Wathes (2015) A study of dairy heifer rearing practices from birth to weaning and their associated costs on UK dairy farms. Open Journal of Animal Sciences 5: 185-197.

MJ Elmes, A Szyszka, C Pauliat, B Clifford, Z Daniel, Z Cheng, DC Wathes and S McMullen. (2015) Maternal age effects on myometrial expression of contractile proteins, uterine gene expression and contractile activity during labor in the rat.  Physiological Reports 3: e12305

 

I am now retired but the majority of my career has been university based. From 1979-1990 I was a member of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Bristol and I worked at the RVC from 1994 - 2019 based in various departments (Animal Health, Veterinary Basic Sciences, Production and Population Health, Pathobiology and Population Sciences).  At Bristol my teaching included lectures on reproduction and embryology to medical, veterinary and science students. At RVC I  taught reproduction, embryology and thermoregulation to both veterinary and science students. At both universities I also acted as a tutor and had significant input into supervision of undergraduate research projects. At Bristol and the RVC I  also undertook my fair share of assessments and examination marking (both written and oral) and have sat on student appeals panels. I was external examiner in Animal Science at the University of Nottingham (2001-2005) and at University College, Dublin (2006 -2010), covering second year veterinary courses in reproduction, nutrition and animal welfare. I have also been the main or co-supervisor of 36 PhD students, aiming to produce students who combined an ability to undertake whole animal physiology experiments with an understanding of modern molecular biology techniques. I  have regularly  acted as external examiner for PhDs in both biomedical and animal sciences.

Not applicable

I have been a frequent speaker to farming and veterinary audiences both nationally and internationally for my  work on dairy cow fertility and dairy heifer calf development. This has been both in person and via webinars. I was also involved on a project in collaboration with AHDB Dairy to produce a series of short training films for dairy farmers on successful heifer rearing . These are available through youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/DairyCoAHDB/videos

 

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