
Dr Catherine Finnegan
Academic and research departments
Department of veterinary clinical sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences.About
Biography
Cait graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2011 and has worked as a small animal veterinary surgeon in roles spanning charity practice, first opinion, referral and academia.
She is the lead for the Small Animal Section and has a keen interest in all things general practice veterinary medicine and surgery. In addition, she is a One Health practitioner and leads the One Health module in the curriculum.
University roles and responsibilities
- Small Animal Section Lead
My qualifications
Affiliations and memberships
Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2024
News
In the media
Publications
Background: Antibiotic resistance increasingly threatens the interconnected health of humans, animals, and the environment. While misuse of antibiotics is a known driver, environmental factors also play a critical role. A balanced One Health approach—including the environmental sector—is necessary to understand the emergence and spread of resistance. Methods: We systematically searched English-language literature (1990–2021) in MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science, plus grey literature. Titles, abstracts, and keywords were screened, followed by full-text reviews using a structured codebook and dual-reviewer assessments. Results: Of 13,667 records screened, 738 met the inclusion criteria. Most studies focused on freshwater and terrestrial environments, particularly associated with wastewater or manure sources. Evidence of research has predominantly focused on Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas spp., with a concentration on ARGs conferring resistance to sulphonamides (sul1–3), tetracyclines (tet), and beta-lactams. Additionally, the People’s Republic of China has produced a third of the studies—twice that of the next country, the United States—and research was largely domestic, with closely linked author networks. Conclusion: Significant evidence gaps persist in understanding antibiotic resistance in non-built environments, particularly in marine, atmospheric, and non-agricultural set65 tings. Stressors such as climate change and microplastics remain notably under-explored. There is also an urgent need for more research in low-income regions, which face higher risks of antibiotic resistance, to support the development of targeted, evidence-based interventions.