Rate My Professor Sandy Slow

Dr. Sandy Slow serves as Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Agricultural Sciences within the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Lincoln University, New Zealand. She earned her PhD in Molecular Genetics and BSc with First Class Honours in Biochemistry from Lincoln University, with her doctorate conferred in 2001. Earlier in her career, she worked as a Research Fellow in the Department of Pathology at the Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago. As an animal scientist, Dr. Slow pursues diverse research interests at the intersection of human and animal health, integrating disciplines such as microbiology, genetics, and toxicology. Her investigations include the biology of Legionella longbeachae, the primary cause of legionellosis in New Zealand, encompassing epigenetic modifications, genomic inversions, culture enhancement methods, and inhibitory effects of metals like copper, zinc, and manganese on its growth. She has also explored clinical applications, such as adjunctive vitamin C therapy for moderate-to-severe COVID-19 patients, and earlier studies on footrot bacteria Dichelobacter nodosus in sheep and the pulmonary toxicity of dimethylthetin in rats.

Dr. Slow's scholarly output includes significant publications such as 'Extensive epigenetic modification with large-scale genomic inversion in Legionella longbeachae' (Scientific Reports, 2022), 'Adjunctive intravenous then oral vitamin C for moderate-severe COVID-19: a structured summary of a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial' (Trials, 2021, with follow-up in Frontiers in Medicine, 2023), 'The inhibitory effect of copper, zinc, and manganese on Legionella longbeachae' (Letters in Applied Microbiology, 2023), 'Enhancement of Culture of Legionella longbeachae from Composting Potting Mixes' (Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2021), 'Dimethylthetin treatment causes diffuse alveolar lung damage in rats' (Toxicology Letters, 2007), and 'Characterization of footrot bacteria Dichelobacter nodosus prevalence in New Zealand' (2006 thesis-related). She contributes to education as course examiner for Animal Health and Animal Science and supervises postgraduate research for Master's and PhD programmes. Professionally, she holds the position of Treasurer on the New Zealand Society of Animal Production Management Committee and served on the Health Research Council of New Zealand's Science Assessing Committee in 2022-2023.